Australia holds its own on the world stage

by AIMEX on 16 Mar 2009 It is a fact of life that being ‘down under’ Australia is isolated from a large chunk of the world but when it comes to the marine industry, Australia is well known for the quality products we are capable of producing.

Australia is a maritime nation with the third largest marine jurisdiction in the world. The marine industries’ cumulative role in Australia’s economy is huge and growing rapidly. A new, Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) ‘Index of Marine Industry’ estimates the value of Australian marine industries at $38 billion a year. Trend data confirms the sector has grown by 42 per cent since 2000-01.

The Index includes industries ranging from offshore resources such as oil and gas to recreational fishing, boating and tourism. The marine sector itself, made up of over 2700 companies employing nearly 30,000 people, has an estimated turnover of around $7.5 billion and exports over $1.2 billion worth of products each year.

The Australian shipbuilding and repair industry is estimated to have a $1.942 billion turnover with $411 million in exports while the boat building and repair sector creates $1.138 billion in turnover and $293 million in exports. Australian marine products are exported to a range of established markets including New Zealand, the Pacific Rim, USA, Europe, South America and the Caribbean. Emerging export markets include UAE, Kuwait, Netherlands, Turkey, China, Russia and South America.

Australia has several world class boat builders who are at the forefront of innovation, both recreational and commercial. Many rely on export as a major part of their business. Riviera, Maritimo, Sunrunner and Mustang are the leaders in flybridge and sports cruisers with Telwater Australia’s largest manufacturer of aluminium boats.

Riviera is the country’s largest boat builder, by dollars and their brand is present at many of the world’s boat shows. They are represented on every continent on the globe, across the Americas, from Russia to the Mediterranean, in China, throughout Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Their innovative new 4400 Sport Yacht, the first production boat in Australia to be designed for Volvo Penta IPS drives, was awarded the 2008 Australian Boat of the Year award, the second successive year the company has added this trophy to their cabinet. At last year’s Sydney International Boat Show they launched their new flagship, the 70 Enclosed Flybridge, Australia’s largest recreational production boat.

Maritimo also has a big presence around the world with their latest launchings certain to cement that presence. The C60 Sports Cabriolet is a European-style cruiser which has already received accolades from experts from all around the world.

Sunrunner’s International Dealer network includes locations in New Zealand, China, the Middle East and Greece. They have exported several of their sports cruisers to China’s, Shanghai Leisure Boating Club which has several locations throughout the country. They soon hope to tap the UAE market.

For Mustang Marine, innovation is a key driver for their new direction with the release of the 430 Sports Coupe in early 2009. This new model is planned to spearhead their export market through their growing global dealer network.

Steber International is in their sixty second year of boatbuilding and constantly produces world class vessels. Their model 3800 Sports Fisher, which won Australian Boat of the Year in the non-trailerable section in 2007, has proven very successful, with recent exports to the United Arab Emirates. Steber also has a great reputation for building commercial craft. Last year they completed a contract for the Australian Customs Service for four, 40 foot response vessels.

Strengthening Australia’s reputation for exporting proven technology, Patriot Marine is at the forefront of a growing demand for high speed assault craft, that can perform the dual purpose role of regular patrols or a variety of policing and insurgency duties. They are developing and supplying construction kits with supervision packages to many boat builders in the country where the boats are required, increasing business for the local industry.

Also tapping the policing market is LeisureCat Australia, an expanding company with worldwide sales of its range of power catamarans. Their craft are built to Australian Shipping Laws survey standards, making them the perfect choice for police, rescue and charter boats as well as the serious fisherman.

Sail craft are also a big part of the country’s boat building export market.

Seawind Catamarans is Australia’s largest manufacturer of cruising and charter catamarans, with dozens of design and business awards to their name in both Australia and the USA. They are dedicated to building export markets internationally with dealers in the USA, Hong Kong, Thailand, New Zealand and Europe. Their innovative export marketing strategies have lead Seawind to be awarded as a finalist in the Australian Export Awards. The company has invested heavily in a new production facility which has world class manufacturing techniques such as temperature controlled lamination bays and resin infusion technology.

Also taking on the world sailing stage is Lightwave Yachts. Their cats have been documented to out perform some of the biggest names in the Industry, and have conquered many global miles. In 2008
Lightwave Yachts expanded their range to include a racing cat - the Raider One Design. In 2009 they will release the new Grande’ version for their larger cruising cat range to boost their export share.

More and more of the world’s big spenders are turning to Australia for the custom building of vessels in the Superyacht class. An added advantage of having it built down under is that the owner can spend time cruising our wonderful coastline and fantastic water playgrounds grounds like the Great Barrier Reef.

Azzura Yachts is dedicated to the construction of unique motor and sail yachts up to 74 metres. Working in collaboration with world class designers, they are regarded as one of the world’s finest custom yacht builders, building each vessel to the clients required specification.

A large slice of Australia’s marine industry is the companies who specialise in the materials, products, electronics and other accessories that go into building boats. Many of them are world leaders in their field with technology and innovation.

MultiPanel, a company virtually unheard of in the marine industry three years ago, is now Australia’s largest and most innovative manufacturer of rigid, high density, polyurethane composite panels. Manufactured in Melbourne, the panels were developed by brothers Tony and David Russo. They now have distributors in many countries and have secured deals with major boat builders including US company Viking, UK companies Sunseeker and Princess and Chinese builder Double Happiness Yacht Company (DHS). MultiPanel reached a pinnacle at METS Amsterdam 2008 when they were nominated as a finalist in the DAME Awards – recognized by the industry as the leading competition for marine product design and innovation.

Fiberglass International (FGI) is a leading supplier of composite materials. FGI is at the forefront of new composite processing technology such as prepregs and resin infusion moulding. FGI has expanded into the rapid tooling market with their ULTRATEC LP Tooling System. This system combines a selection of specially formulated materials for the fabrication of high performance, dimensionally stable FRP composite moulds with outstanding durability.

A niche local company which has a presence at many marine trade and boat shows around the world is Fixtech. They offer shipwrights, production boat builders, marine repairers, and industrial end users,