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Gulf Harbour - The new Vision


New Zealand town to establish Superyacht Cluster

By IBI Magazine

The Waitakere City Council has purchased of 15 hectares of land in Hobsonville, an area three times the size of the existing marine cluster, for NZ$15.3 million. Mayor Bob Harvey said in a statement that the objective of the purchase is to make Hobsonville the "Southern Hemisphere capital of superyacht building."

"We want to create a cluster of marine industries and a centre of excellence at Hobsonville to enable New Zealand to compete better with new facilities in Australia trying to muscle in on the lucrative international market for building, outfitting and maintaining superyachts," said Harvey in the statement. "Waitakere has identified filmmaking and boat building as two industries which the council wishes to foster, by making best use of natural competitive advantages, existing skills and infrastructure in our city."

The current marine center in Hobsonville consists of Sovereign Yachts, Yachting Developments Ltd, Bluewater Boats and a traditional boat building school.

The Hobsonville move is strongly supported by the marine industry, which hopes to see existing marine precinct at Hobsonville develop into a major marine cluster, close to the centre of Auckland.

Ian Cook, president of the Marine Industry Association New Zealand and managing director of Yachting Developments Ltd, said the purchase was a "major step forward for the marine industry," which accounts for annual exports of some NZ$570 million.

"There was a feeling when we lost the America's Cup that international interest would wane in Zealand as a place to have a superyacht built and outfitted, but this has not been the case," said Cook in the statement. "The ability of New Zealand craftsmen is well established, as is our ability to build these complex vessels on time and on budget. One of the keys to doing this is for builders to be able to integrate all of the suppliers which go towards making up the whole package. In doing this we will work cooperatively with the marine industries based at Westhaven to present a seamless service to clients."

Cook said the New Zealand industry faces strong competition from Australia, where state governments have encouraged and subsidised the establishment of new facilities for the building and maintenance of superyachts. "It is great to have Waitakere City Council so strongly encouraging and supporting the development of a marine cluster at Hobsonville to allow New Zealand to compete in this lucrative market," he said. "We are on the world stage already. The industry needs to stay there and consolidate and grow our position through this new initiative."
 

(30 May 2007)

 

 

R Electronics signs Raymarine contract

By IBI Magazine

R Electronics, a division of Australian powerboat builder Riviera, has signed an exclusive four-year preferred supplier agreement with marine electronics manufacturer Raymarine. The company, which is based in Coomera, Queensland, has worked with Raymarine for the past 19 years to supply and fit its electronic systems on Riviera boats.

"This new agreement confirms our strong relationship with Raymarine," says Errol Cain, managing director of R Electronics. "We supply and fit more than $4.5 million of Raymarine products each year. This exclusive Preferred Supplier agreement will allow us to provide even strong ser service to our clients and to help Raymarine grow its market share in Australia."

Raymarine offers a complete range of marine electronics for the leisure boating market, including autopilots, instruments, fish finders, GPS, radar, satellite TV, communication systems and software for power and sailboats. The agreement with R Electronics was made through Raymarine Asia Pty Ltd, which was formed in February of this year and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Raymarine.

 

(25 May 2007)