Motor Cruiser F34/h2>
Luxury motor yacht builder Sealine is expanding its Midland production facilities and workforce to cope with an anticipated increase in demand.
The company, based in Kidderminster, has won new business following exhibitions at the Southampton and London boat shows. Orders are up around 20 per cent across Europe for the company which builds between 300 and 350 boats a year.
And, in a successful start to 2005, the firm has also picked up two top honours for its boats at the London event.
It picked up the best boat prize for its F34 craft at a ceremony organised by Motorboats Monthly to recognise design excellence.
The F34 also won the best flybridge motor cruiser category at the event held at the Design Museum in the capital.
Managing director Patrik von Sydow said: 'I am absolutely thrilled to receive these prestigious awards.
'It means a great deal to me and all those involved in the design and build of this hugely successful boat - the team in Kidderminster will be just as delighted with the acknowledgement of their world class product.'
The F34 is an 'entry level' flybridge motor cruiser offering flexible accommodation combined with an optimal performance.
Motor Boats Monthly editor Hugo Andreae said: 'As innovators Sealine are untouchable and much of their sorcery can be found on the F34 - the F34 has pushed the entry level flybridge cruiser to new heights. This is a boat that you do not have to be a millionaire to buy or run but it will make you feel like one nevertheless. This is a boat that flies out of the showrooms as fast as the factory can build and that is why it is our motorboat of the year.'
The company, which employs 560 people, hopes the prize will help a sales push into 2005.
It is now poised to add an extra 59,000 sq ft of production space to its factory on the Hartlebury Trading Estate. The company, which was set up in 1971, already has a 16-acre site at Kidderminster making luxury motor yachts costing up to pounds 1 million.
Following a search of 17 locations across the region, the final choice of Hartlebury Trading Estate was influenced by the proximity to Sealine's existing workforce and ease of access to the motorway network at junction 6 of the M5.
A growing order book for Sealine's luxury boats, which range in size from 25ft to the 60ft T60 model, has already meant a 15 per cent increase in employees in the past 12 months.
It is expected that the expansion to Hartlebury Trading Estate, which is five miles from the established Sealine headquarters, will see additional recruitment.
The Hartlebury facility will concentrate on a new method of boat building using a process of resin infusion in the construction of hulls and decks for Sealine's fibreglass luxury yachts.
Sealine's Paul Darby said: 'The building at Hartlebury Trading Estate with its large service yard is ideal for our type of operation.
'It was essential that any expansion facility was within easy reach of our skilled workforce and our suppliers and traditional engineering support services, many of whom are based in the local area.
'Hartlebury projects the image of a well managed estate which is a plus point when inviting VIP customers to see their boat under construction.'
The Birmingham Post (England)
January 27, 2005
John Revill