Marine manufacturing is a key sector for the Isle of Wight economy. The River Medina is home to many businesses that are associated with marine technology and manufacturing. Aluminium Marine Consultants is a boatbuilder that is currently contributing at least £2 million into the Cowes economy.
“If you can build a boat then you can build anything, and I’m trying very hard to support a strategic industry that is important to the UK,” says Rob Stewart. He’s the commercial director of Aluminium Marine Consultants in East Cowes. The company is one of the UK’s leading aluminium boat builders. In the last three years the company has moved from producing aluminium hulls to launching fully fitted boats built to their own designs. The business was established back in 2007 by owners Steve Holbrook and Nigel True and since then the company has built more than 45 vessels. Rob was originally a commercial lawyer and powerboat racing driver. He’s now also part of the Isle of Wight Chamber’s main board and Economic Advisory Committee, and he’s keen to promote Island manufacturing.
“People often forget that there’s a fantastic history of skill on the Isle of Wight,” Rob says. “If you look back at the history of the Island, to FBM and Souters, even further back to Saunders Roe, the Island was the pioneer of aluminium boatbuilding. I don’t think that has truly been recognised by the powers that be, especially the local authority when it comes to providing training and facilities. With BAE and now GKN these are fantastic, world class innovative companies with world class people. We have the research and development team for Vestas worldwide based on the Island. There are things that commercially we should be really proud of. We’re not merely a tourist island – we’re an elite manufacturing island. We have exported our expertise too. Wherever you go in the world, you’ll find someone from the Isle of Wight working in aluminium boatbuilding. We’re very famous for it.”
The company moved to Venture Quays a year ago, located next to the world famous Union Flag doors. The workforce grew from 20 to a permanent core of around 50, with up to 85 people on the workshop floor. Aluminium Marine Consultants are a key supplier for the offshore wind industry. Their boats are long lasting and designed to be in use every day of the year.
“Our boats are essentially minibuses that take 12 engineers out to a windfarm,” Rob explains. “They’re prestige top of the range boats. Aluminium is totally recyclable and it doesn’t rot. The hulls will almost go on forever.” With lifespans of more than 20 years and retail prices of more than £3 million Rob says they’re “hardly an impulse buy”. His company doesn’t spend heavily on marketing or industry schmoozing either. With the renewable industry and wind farms in particular raising levels of demand, there’s definitely a demand for the type of boats that Rob builds. He’s cautious about the future though.
“We’re very proud to be here in Cowes but it is very difficult for us to build boats here, as every single boat builder will tell you. The nature of what we do is quiet secretive and we really should have more of a collective voice. We don’t shout too much about it and unless something is done, we will eventually have to move off the Island, all of us. Like any business we’re looking for longevity and profitability but it does rely on skill and premises. The worry is where we might be located in a year and that’s a problem for everyone in Cowes.”
Although the industry is competitive, Rob doesn’t see any conflict with nearby Shemara Refit who built the new Red Jet 6, and although there’s some similarity with South Boats he says there’s “plenty of work for us both to do and we very seldom bid for the same job,” noting that Island boat builders have “a weird sense of community and work very well together”. Rob wants to grow the business by setting high standards of workmanship. The company has attained ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001 Accreditation, ensuring the very best standards of build in a safe and environmentally responsible way. Rob’s a big fan of doing business in new, creative ways.
“We’re thinking outside of the box and we have very innovative customers. 2015 was an excellent year for us and growing the company is dead simple. We’re now looking at longer term relationships with our clients, moving from three year to ten year charters. Price is king and the challenge is competing and having people understand the quality of our work.”
Although there’s uncertainty about the future location of manufacturing on the Medina, Rob’s main challenge is the global economy. Cheaper boats from abroad push down market prices and that’s a frustration when other countries are investing to protect their own marine manufacturing.
“Every day we’re competing with yards in Vietnam or Australia or the EU, often with huge subsidies or where the labour is much cheaper. I am not allowed to sell commercial boats in America because of the Jones Act which precludes us from trading with the biggest free trade partner in the world. Other countries protect their industry but I don’t think the UK government has ever protected boatbuilding or shipbuilding. It’s a great shame when we have billions being invested in windfarms at the moment and very little of that comes back to the UK.
“The truth is that you can buy boats far cheaper elsewhere but we’re proud to be here and I don’t think I can sing the Island’s praises high enough. I absolutely adore our company and I’m hugely proud of the guys that work here. It would be very disappointing not to carry on here – but we do have to carry on making boats. It’s always a huge kick to see our name displayed next to that huge Union Jack and I do believe that we have a great future.”
