Streaker Boats celebrate 40 year milestone

by Connexion PR on 27 Jul 2013 Prominent Melbourne based fibreglass boat manufacturer and marine retailer, Streaker Boats, is celebrating their 40 year anniversary in 2013.

Brothers Leon and Paul Savage successfully managed to turn their passion for boating, into a long standing, dynamic marine business success story.

In 1973, Leon Savage had completed his 5 year apprenticeship as a boat builder and together with his brother Paul, started L&P Savage Brothers Marine.

'Our first model was the V14 Streaker,' Leon recalled. 'This was built in a factory in Ringwood, and was soon followed by the V17 Streaker. We had a dealer network, and couldn’t keep up with demand for these popular models'

In the early days of their business, the Savage brothers were active powerboat racing competitors. They travelled the country, circuit racing and offshore racing, winning numerous state titles in the process. At one time, the Savage brothers were a part of the Mercury Racing Team. Business started to demand more time, and a passion for fishing evolved and began to dominate their time on the water.

'As we got a bit older and wiser, we picked the market as swinging heavily towards fishing', Leon said. 'We were one of the first to pick the trend and we swung all of our resources into developing a complete range of Streaker fishing boats.'

The range included the following models: 4.58; 5.02; 5.45 and 5.85, all of which were produced in different layouts including, Cuddys. Runabouts and Cruisers. The SR1600 ski boat was released in both inboard and outboard configurations.

Over the years the Streaker business has been quite diversified. At one stage Streaker also constructed Jenkscraft Boats, Scout Runabouts, Custom boats and 7m Cruisers. The largest boat constructed by Streaker was a 12m Flybridge Cruiser.

There was also a separate area for Porsche Fibreglass Repairs. Streaker not only constructed boats, but also produced Savage outdoor furniture, as well as fibreglass engine components for Group A Commodores.

Both Leon and Paul’s wives actively work in the business. The children are also integral parts of the team with Leon’s son Troy in charge of new model development. Paul’s son Sean is involved in Sales, and Paul’s other son, Paul Jnr, is in charge of the Service Department. Streaker is a real family business across all divisions!

Over the years the Streaker brand and the Savage brothers have been prominent identities in the development of the Australian marine industry. Leon has served on the Board of the Boating Industry Association, supported BIA boat shows and been an active proponent of the annual Boat of the Year awards. The Streaker brand has won its fair share of national awards along the way, including:

* Australian Boat of the Year 1991 and 2000
* Yamaha Outstanding Sales & Marketing Performance
* BIA Melbourne Boat Show retailer stand of the year 2003
* Lowrance Electronics National Top Ten Awards
* Club Marine Top 10 Platinum Dealers
* Yamaha Best Genuine Accessories Sales Award
* Yamaha Platinum Dealership Award – Melbourne
* Finalist in Modern Boating Boat of the Year 2008
* Finalist in the AMIF Boat of the Year 2008
* Finalist in Modern Boating Best of the Best Award 2008
* BIA Retailer of the Year 2008 and 2009

Streaker Boats has enjoyed many landmark events. In 1990, the national network of dealers was wound down with all Streaker boats produced sold from their own Bayswater (Melbourne) retail outlet. The retail operation grew steadily and in 1993 they were appointed a Yamaha dealer.

Then came their appointment as a Quintrex dealer in 2005, which was followed up with their award as the Australian Quintrex Dealer of the Year, 2010 – 2011.

'The highlight of our 40 years in the boat business has clearly been the opening of our retail showroom in 1999,' Paul Savage said.

'We have never set out to be the biggest dealer in town, but we have continually strived to deliver the best customer service in the industry. We’ve borrowed a lot from the automotive industry and we believe that our customers are treated very fairly and with great respect.'

Having designed and built lots of different boats over their 40 years, Leon and Paul Savage have taken on the tough economic times with a passion. In 2010, the entire Streaker range was re-launched with new model designations, this being driven by a solid upgrade and launch of new models over the preceding two years.

'The boat industry has certainly been a challenge over the past four or five years,' Leon Savage said.

'But this has spurred us on to produce a better product both in terms of design, quality and performance. Nothing stays the same and we have continually updated, upgraded and worked better to provide our Streaker customers with the boats that they demand.'

Today, the Streaker Boats retail arm continues a highly professional and well run business unit. The company not only sells the Streaker brand of boats, but is also the authorised agent for Quintrex aluminium boats and Tigé fibreglass inboard wake/ surf boats.

'We’re happily celebrating our forty year milestone and share our achievement with the market,' Leon said. 'We’re all very proud of our success in this close knit family business.'

Streaker Boats is a leading Melbourne marine retailer, being authorised dealers for Quintrex, Streaker, Tigé Ski Boats and Yamaha outboards.

More at www.streakerboats.com.au