Strong history means bright future for diversifying Mid West boat building industry

From humble origins in the crayfishing scene of the 1950s, the Mid West boat building industry has developed from a niche operation into a world-class sector, and the future is only looking brighter, according to leaders in the field. With opportunities to diversify and work with countries across the world, industry insiders are confident the marine manufacturing industry will continue to grow and help support and enhance the Mid West economy. The industry traces its beginnings to crayfishing in the 1950s, when fishermen began building boats for themselves and fellow anglers. “Back then it was timber-built boats, now we’ve got high-tech aluminium ones,” Andrew Taylor, managing director at Southerly Designs, said. During its peak in the 1980s and 90s, crayfishers wanted the fastest, flashiest boats they could get to gain an advantage over their competitors, and a bustling industry expanded to provide them. The legacy of the crayfishing industry helps make Geraldton special, according to Mr Taylor. “The money from crayfishing was able to be poured into get the next biggest, best fastest thing during the 80s and 90s really elevated the Geraldton boat building to a leading position,” he said. While Geraldton’s crayfishing industry is not at the size it once was, boat builders have diversified into new fields such as recreational, charter, police, pilot and rescue boats. “The diversity of boats has changed, we used to follow the crayfishing industry, but as the various industries in the Mid West have evolved so have we,” Tim Brown, managing director of Fine Entry, said. “Six or so years ago, 80 per cent of our boats were for crayfishing, now most of our work is on commercial fishing and pleasure boats,” explained Dean Parker of Horrie & Steve’s Slipway. Boats built in Geraldton and the Mid West are now seen across Australian and the world, and the industry here has built a strong reputation, according to Mr Taylor. Southerly Designs, for instance, has designed and built boats for oil and gas in Malaysia and Indonesia, pilot boats in Kenya and the United Arab Emirates, and even boats for Nigerian police. So what makes Geraldton a great place for boat manufacturers? Mr Brown said it’s the culmination of generations of expert builders. “It probably comes down to the experience we have, with all the fishing fleets and oil and gas fleets we’ve seen in the area,” he said. “We’re an area that’s very close-knit with our expertise, and that hasn’t been eroded by bigger companies, or spread out too far. “We’ve been able to develop the quality and strength of a vessel that is in demand worldwide.” You only have to see the number and sheer size of some of the massive boat building sheds springing up at Geraldton’s Fishing Boat Harbour and beyond to know this is an industry on the rise. Industry leaders agree prospects look strong for the sector’s future. Diversification is set to continue, with Fine Entry, for example, venturing into pleasure boats. “There’s a lot of scope to see where we can go,” Mr Brown “There’s a bright future for the boat building industry in Geraldton, and in WA, we want to be in the position to take on as much as we can, and spread as much through our community as we can. Mr Taylor added: “Hopefully through State governments we can get some defence-related work, whether that’s new constructions or maintenance, there’s new opportunities there.” Rohan Warr, managing director at Dongara Marine, said his business had just invested $4 million in new facilities in Geraldton. “So we definitely think the future is bright,” he said. There are still challenges for the industry, according to Mr Warr, reminding the sector that it needs to commit to training the next generation. “When guys get into their 60s, it’s a physically demanding job so it’s pretty difficult,” he said. “When those guys leave the industry, you need to have newer kids coming through, encouraging them to come through, or the industry could die.” Nonetheless, the industry is confident it will continue to support the surrounding community. “We’ve been in this industry for 60 years, and we’re still here, we’re bringing our staff and engineers to Geraldton, and in the digital age, we are bringing our knowledge, our skills and technique out to the world,” Mr Taylor said. According to Nils Hay, CEO of the Mid West Development Commission, boat manufacturing is an important part of the local economy, and becoming more critical, worth almost $62m to the region annually. “The sector also more broadly contributes to our advanced manufacturing capabilities, which we are increasingly being recognised for, and is an important linkage supporting our $230m fishing industry,” he said. “The marine manufacturing industry is an important part of the Australian economy and we are well positioned to capitalise on the recent focus towards other value-adding opportunities, such as potential defence applications.” Extrapolating REMPLAN data from 2016, Mr Hay said the industry employed more than 60 people — almost 50 of which are Mid West-based. Although the industry’s contribution to regional output and gross regional product was put at less than 1 per cent, it shows there is still much room to grow. Of the $62m in total annual output, about $42m was exported, with the industry generating almost $8m in local expenditure. Mr Hay noted that a State Government Regional Economic Development Grant helped Dongara Marine fund the purchase of the region’s first independently available computer numerical control machine to deliver consistency across a fleet of different vessels. According to Mr Parker, from Horrie & Steve’s Slipway, a close relationship with other trades is key to the Geraldton boat building industry’s success. “There’s a diverse amount of trades here, everything’s five minutes away, and everyone works well together,” he said. “In Perth they have a lot of trouble, a lot of the trades don’t interact with each other and they don’t really trust each other.” Mr Warr said the local community and State Government had been very supportive of the industry, and the boat building sector hoped to keep giving back. “A healthy boating industry helps support other industries, which brings more work, so the more work we have, the more that goes throughout the economy,” he said. “From sponsoring footy clubs, to workers renting houses, it’s not just one small sector.”