Country boys think big

By ROBIN BAILEY

They do things differently in the country, and Taranaki is no exception. A new company's assault on the top end of the marine market is a good example of success through positive thinking and direct action.

In a huge shed alongside the water at the port end of New Plymouth, two superyachts are under construction in a new facility that is the home of Fitzroy Yachts.

An 84-foot pilothouse cruiser, designed by the German company judel/vrolijk in Bremerhaven for a European client, will go into the water next year with a price tag of $6.5 million.

Beside it is an Ed Dubois-designed 122-footer that will cost an Australian owner somewhere between $15 million and $17 million, depending on final specifications.

Project manager Richard Hardy came to New Plymouth from Britain to work for Fitzroy Engineering, an old-established Taranaki company carrying out all the traditional engineering roles.

He jumped at the chance to move into the more glamorous field of building superyachts when company owner Peter White-Robinson decided the time was right to expand the operation.

"Fitzroy Yachts was formed and the company then took a serious punt to establish its credentials by building an 82-foot Alan Warwick yacht called Spirit of Fitzroy," Hardy says.

"The decision paid off and that first yacht became our showcase.

"Nine months ago we had a staff of two. Today there are 85 working on this site and we need to expand the payroll to 130 by February next year."

That's real progress, and the company is proud that it has been achieved without any of the fast-tracking assistance given to one of the new players in the superyacht field in Auckland under Jim Anderton's Economic Development Ministry scheme.

Like everyone else in the booming marine industry, the Taranaki company faces the problem of finding sufficient skilled labour.

"We are fortunate to have a good pool of fabricators and other engineering tradespeople keen to move into aluminium boatbuilding, which is a bit more exciting," Hardy says.

"We have been able to recruit from Palmerston North and Hamilton, and we imported some Tasmanians when the industry there took a hit."

The yachts will go into the water from the New Plymouth yard finished apart from the masts. They will be motored north to have the Auckland-built masts stepped.

Unlike some builders, Fitzroy is doing all the interior work on site, with cabinet-makers being recruited from other New Zealand centres and from overseas.

"We use the lifestyle options available in Taranaki to lure people here," Hardy says. "Aucklanders are convinced when they compare house prices and realise there are no traffic jams down here."

Finding the right people is important, because a client shelling out up to $17 million wants the best. Interior design on both yachts is by Briton Dick Young, and work is well under way.

Hardy says email means designers and their clients can monitor progress without having to be on the spot. He regards the fact that the client's representative on the 122ft Dubois has not yet been down to check on progress means that they are satisfied the company is doing the job well.

Fitzroy Yachts markets internationally by attending most of the big boat shows, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Dusseldorf, and through its involvement with Marex, the New Zealand industry's marine export group.

Marex chief executive Lane Finley says location is no problem for the New Plymouth company.

"It may seem out of the mainstream to New Zealanders more used to hearing about successful boatbuilders from Whangarei or Auckland, but when you look at the international picture this whole country is a long way away from the market. We have to go offshore to sell ourselves."

Fitzroy yachts must be getting it right. Negotiations are under way for two more 122-footers from the drawing board of Ed Dubois.