Tricon Marine moving to China

The US-based Tricon Marine, a high-quality builder of FRP/composite luxury yachts up to 55 metres long, recently broke ground on China?s first and only North American-owned and operated shipyard. The new facility will allow Tricon to offer its customers the highest quality design and construction at unprecedented value.

Located just outside the city of Zhuhai in China?s Guangdong province, Tricon’s 55,000m2 state-of-the-art facility is designed to operate at the highest standards of craftsmanship, cleanliness and security. An initial $8 million investment is budgeted for phase I with a total investment of $21 million over five years.

Production and employee training began in early 2007 on a 27 metre high-performance offshore vessel at Tricon’s temporary facility adjacent to its new yard under construction. The new shipyard is expected to be fully operational by August 2008 and, at full capacity, it will be the largest for composite yacht construction in China with an output of 16 yachts indoor and in-water work on two additional yachts up to 55 metres at its pier. The company will be able complete up to $60 million in work per year depending on the size of the yachts under construction.

Christos Livadas, Chairman and CEO, Tricon Marine, said “Tricon Marine is committed to strictly adhering to client specifications and contractual obligations while offering unmatched craftsmanship and quality at a competitive price that sets a new value standard in the industry. We intend to put China on the map as a place for world-class yacht construction as never before.”

“As the first Western-owned shipbuilder in China, Tricon’s clients will enjoy significant labour cost savings, approximately 30% less per hour less than Taiwanese yards and over 60% less than the company’s U.S. and European-based competitors. As a result, a typical 46 metre yacht that requires approximately 400,000 man hours would offer approximately $15 million in savings to our customer, when compared with construction in the US. This flexibility coupled with our experienced management team assures our clients that we surpass the level of service and attention to detail to which they are accustomed.”

The company currently has 64 employees and expects to grow its skilled labor pool to 210 workers over the next 18 months. It carefully selects and oversees the best workers and craftspeople, all of whom have experience at other shipyards in the area and a minimum of five years of active work in the yacht-building trade. Tricon Marine’s entire office staff uses English to communicate. All specifications, contracts and other documents are written in English to eliminate misunderstandings.

Unlike other yards that build their own retail brands, Tricon is capable of building any well-designed yacht submitted by its clients. This includes custom yachts bearing both the Tricon name and that of its designers as well as yachts for established OEM brands currently built in the United States, Canada, Taiwan and elsewhere. As the only shipyard in China capable of fulfilling these needs, Tricon expects its services to be in high demand.