2019 financial year sees Grand Banks complete its first five-year strategic business objectives
by Grand Banks Yachts 12 Sep 2019 12:13 UTC
Key Points
- A four-year investment in expansion of the main manufacturing facility in Malaysia was completed, now providing more than double the undercover manufacturing capacity from 270,000 to 550,000 square feet, and fully equipped with the latest technology. Robots help to accelerate the new product innovation. 184 new staff were recruited and extensively trained during 2019, ready to help deliver the contracted order book and meet the additional demands for our new models.
- The acquisition of the Stuart facility in late 2018 FY has seen the facility expanded in 2019 to become the Grand Banks USA HQ, housing the global marketing and client support teams.
- Grand Banks invested in developing 4 new models during the 2019 financial year with tooling completed for 3 of them, while at the same time meeting the current production demands. This brings the entire combined Grand Banks and Palm Beach range to 14 models from 42 feet through to 90 feet.
- There have been product debuts in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and USA, showcasing that the new Grand Banks and Palm Beach models are at the pinnacle of quality, style, efficiency and performance.
- This last year saw Grand Banks develop the contracted order book to its highest level in more than 10 years.
The People
Grand Banks has created world class management, product development, and manufacturing teams. Marine industry veteran Peter Truslow joined Grand Banks as Vice President Sales and Marketing. Peter spent 20 years as president of Edgewater Powerboats, and the last 3 years as CEO of Bertram Yachts.
The customer service team at Grand Banks Yacht Basin in Stuart, Florida, now handle all new boat deliveries, commissioning, training, and client warranty services. The team, lead by Managing Director Hank Compton also provide an extensive array of ship yard services.
The Grand Banks factory in Malaysia has added 184 new skilled people, who have been trained for more than six months in the GB processes and quality standard expected. This significant investment in our people and production capacity was necessary to meet our current 2020 needs and will be the foundation we build upon for future years.
The Yachts
Grand Banks Yachts and Palm Beach Motor Yachts brands both have new and innovative yachts to launch to the market during this boat show season.
- The PB70 is the new Palm Beach flagship yacht, capable of top speed of 38 kts, and impressive industry-leading fuel efficiency figures. The first PB70 is on show at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in September.
- The Palm Beach GT60, the 45-knot capable big brother to the award winning GT50, on display for the first time in Europe during CYF 2019, will debut early in 2020 at the Miami International Boat Show.
- There has been unprecedented interest in the highly anticipated new Grand Banks GB54, which will be released at the end of this calendar year, and will debut at the Palm Beach International Boat Show in April
All of the new models have sold exceptionally well, long in advance of their release to market. This is a testament to the brands' growing reputation to as class-leading yacht producers.
The year in summary
Grand Banks has had an exceptional year, cementing the foundations for growth, expanding production capacity, and establishing the Grand Banks USA headquarters. "We are all very proud of what we have achieved this last year, and in previous years to get us where we are today. We have done all the hard work, and we will be seeing the results of this during this coming financial year." quoted Mark Richards - CEO.