The UK sailboat builder is adding extra production capacity to meet demand
Oyster Yachts said it has doubled its workforce in Hoveton in the last year. The premium sailboat builder said it has added 59 production and 6 management positions.
Oyster Chief Executive David Tydeman told EDP24.co.uk another 50 jobs could be added in 2014 because of heightened demand for its products. He said the company’s order book is already worth £30m into 2015.
Tydeman said the sale of Oyster from a venture capital firm to two private Dutch investors was a promising sign for its future “for all the right reasons, not just financial return.”
Current production capacity is 75 per cent sold out for 2014. “That is a nice position to be in but it stops me offering early deliveries on other boats we might sell,” said Tydeman. “That is why we are investing in extra capacity, putting up four extra bays for which we already have planning permission. That will allow us to create an extra 50 local jobs throughout the year.”
Oyster’s Hoveton yard focuses on sailing yachts up to 80 feet, while its facility in Southampton builds larger boats, including its 100 and 125 superyachts.
The company has an international network of owners and buyers. Its global rally, a guided world cruise for Oyster owners, helped to stimulate sales. “We sold a number of new boats into the rally, which were built in 2011 and 2012, and our next world rally in 2016 is already well subscribed,” said Tydeman.
The company has managed a successful turnaround in the last four years. “There was a solid order book but it was declining. The year 2009 was a tough one for incoming orders but in 2010 we started the recovery,” said Tydeman.
Annual turnover rose from £27m in 2010 to £35m in 2012.
Source Oyster Yachts through IBI
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