Boat builders shut down plants

[ondarvr]

Expect to see a number of companies start shutting down plants, some for a few months, others for good. This economic environment has been difficult for boat builders and for sometime now they've been slowing production down and looking at possibly closing plants. This was before the current melt down in the stock market, this event will trigger these shutdowns almost immediately. The RV industry is in the same situation with huge layoffs and plant shutdowns.

 

[Dakota47]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

Yep, good by Bayliner

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

Yep, good by Bayliner

Just my thinking, but wouldn't the lower cost, entry level manufacturers be better positioned for this economic downturn? They should already have minimal overhead in their manufacturing process which in turn allows them to offer a $12K boat into the market. I think they'd be best suited?

Thoughts?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

The people that can afford to buy new boats at the moment are not the ones that buy $12K boats.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

It's not just the process overhead, although you're right that the lower end manufacturers may have an advantage.... that's due to their wider market space. More people are willing to consider buying a $12k boat than a $50k one, and during any economic downturn basic statistics says that some of them will still have some money.

Boat manufacturers are getting hit especially hard because they were closely tied to the housing bubble... all those realtors and developers with spare cash, all the flippers buying low and selling high, investors in now worthless paper wanting a status symbol.

But now it's spreading to the economy at large... the global economy, not just the US.

What is going to matter most to the boat manufacturers is their current leveraged position and their burn rate. Do they own the factory, or are they leasing? Do they have inventory materials as a buffer, or do they need to buy more each month to keep working? Did they hire a pile of marketers on staff, or have they been paying an advertising firm? Are they making loan payments on something that aren't a problem when sales is good, but which they'll default on if sales is poor or worse?

This is gonna be ugly, and not just for the boating industry. Be glad if you have a stable job now, and hope you can hang on to it for the next couple years.

Erik

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

brunswick has already closed many plants.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

Yesterday Brunswick announced they will close four more plants and stop production at three others for at least ten weeks, about 1,500 people will be let go. More boat builders will follow this path in the near future.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

Dingbat got it right, 95% of the boats we build are high dollar models.

We will go days without building a BIII (Sedona), they have picked up recently and we are still working 5 days a week but ya, I am waiting to see where this latest crash puts us.

Alot of the companies that are hurting the worst are the ones who stock boats, they build up inventory all winter and sell through the year exept the sell part never happened so they are stuck with a field full of boats.

What has helped us is we won't build a boat until we have an order and we try to carry a 90 back log so we have time to adjust if things get softer.

Once the election is over I think things will pick up slowly if someone wins, that is critical, if we have another election where there is no clear winner it will get really ugly, we don't need another court appointed President.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

I'm retired.Lost 22,000 over 9 months and 9,000 in about 3 weeks.In a conservative plan.
I got out just before the latest dives.Some of the guys I worked with may have to put off retirement.Pyramid laid off my sons department
Presentation preperation etc.all but him.Like spitting in the ocean.
Scary.It will be some years before those that can stay in will recover.

 

[Rowroy]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

My best friend's father retired last year. He has also lot a great deal of his money due to recent hard times. Unfortunately, he got hit so hard that he is now trying to paint houses and mow lawns to stay on top of things.

There is something very sad about a 65 year old man who has 46 years of work in with the same company having to paint a house just to "keep up".

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

To put my on the economic situation and how it relates to us average Joes here on this forum, I think there will be a return to some of the old "mechanical" arts our fathers performed. I remember holding the flashlight for my father at 10pm at night as he was putting a new alternator in our family car, no extra money to take it to a shop & he knew what he was doing anyway...More and more of us that can turn a wrench need a site like this to rely on for advice and guidance. My job as a Sales Manager of 12 states in the South East has a lot of pressure, and money is tight like it is for everybody, but my escape is sitting in my driveway, my ugly, needs a lot of love 18 footer, I stand on her deck, seeing in my mind what she will be and for a little while, everything is perfect in my world.

 

[BillP]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

Due to the backlog of 2006 boat inventory still sitting on dealer lots, combined with closings, I suspect we are going to see a no boat model yr policy coming soon too...just like the no model yr motor policy to unload old stock from warehouse shelves in the name of keeping up with technology. We consumers will be expected to pay 2009 prices for 2006 inventory that sat for 3 yrs and take the hit out of our pocket for their poor mfg mgt.

bp

 

[oops!]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

Yesterday Brunswick announced they will close four more plants and stop production at three others for at least ten weeks, about 1,500 people will be let go. More boat builders will follow this path in the near future.

my mother was mentioning that a manufacturer just closed the other day in wash state....a big one......i can only guess its brunswick.....and because it was washington state....that means bayliner.....????


what ones were they.......specifics??

 

[BillP]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

my mother was mentioning that a manufacturer just closed the other day in wash state....a big one......i can only guess its brunswick.....and because it was washington state....that means bayliner.....????


what ones were they.......specifics??

Brunswick is way bigger than Bayliner. They have something like 35+ boat lines ranging in everything between small alum pontoon boats to big yachts. Also, word on the street is west marine has plans to close a few more stores too. They already closed over 40 since 2006.

 

[oops!]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

yes bill, im aware of that....

brunswick tried to all the major brands so if you bought a boat....the money would go to brunswick....

im hearing everything second or third hand with out any real hard facts from the meida. (if you can call the media "hard facts" )

i guess what im asking is....who closed? was it the bayliner plant in wash state? or did brunswick just move production to one of the bigger plants more set up for multi line production.

and to think....i was gonna buy some molds and start doing minor one off production ....

however....i imagine older molds are gonna be really cheep as the manufacturers dump the less sucessful hull designs......

just think...a little streach here...a little widening there...a new cap design .....tee heee just think....i could name them hack boats !

 

[oops!]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

btw.....svfarah ....a minor boat builder that did hi end wake board boats, just shut down....they also had another line.....i cant remember the name.....the were built under contract....but both are gone.....dont know yet if its for good.....but roumor is........

 

[mickjetblue]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

If you do a google search on 'BOAT PLANT SHUTDOWN' the results are many.
A few:

http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=9156284&nav=menu484_6_3

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17503

http://heraldnet.com/article/20081009/BIZ/810099981/0/FRONTPAGE

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_100908BUB_brunswick_boat_plants_close_JM.f83a3871.html

http://www.wqow.com/Global/story.asp?S=9157860&nav=menu1364_2

Very unfortunate situations, and we have to feel sorry for those losing
their jobs, and their families.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

hum, maybe since so many boat mfg. are shutting down. there could be a lot of laborers out there that know how to build boats. perhaps they can go off on there own and start their own business's. separate from Brunswick.... imagine that. small business's and real owners that can back there product. instead of big business sucking us dry. back to the diversity of the 60's and 70's when boats had innovation..... instead of bayliners looking like crownlines and big business sucking us dry. oh, i said that .....

 

[Escape 204 I/O]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

About 2-3 months ago, if my memory serves me right, COBALT laid off 300 people.

We do NOT need another 4. or 8 years of this kind of rule out of the white house.

 

[oops!]

Re: Boat builders shut down plants

thanks for the links.... i appreaceate it