Ed

Sister companies Chris*Craft Corporation and Indian Motorcycle Co., both based in Sarasota, will get incentives worth up to 7.5 million if it meets the job creation goals, according to North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley. The manufacturer agreed Thursday, to move more than 800 jobs from Florida to North Carolina over the next five years. Ed

Chatim Racing

Wow! There was an article in last Sunday's Sun-Sentinal titled: "Boat builders fleeing Florida"

Stats in article said:
Cobia moving 300 jobs to NC, Mako moving 80 jobs to NC, Contender moving 500 jobs to GA, as well as other smaller builders... Skip Braver was quoted speaking about how Cigarette had to move inland due to development pressures/costs etc.

dyno

remember they were in Michigan first.....they will go to the highest bidder....always.

CigDaze

Thanks for the tip!



-----------


Boat builders fleeing Florida

Soaring costs, other states' incentives cited

By Doreen Hemlock
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted July 16 2006

In 21 years in Florida's marine industry, Scott Deal has seen plenty of change. But the president of Maverick Boat Co. in Fort Pierce has never seen as many boat builders leaving the Sunshine State for the Carolinas and Georgia.

Now, after searching for a new manufacturing site, he's moving one of his businesses out, too. Deal is relocating the Cobia Boat Co. he bought in Florida's Panhandle to North Carolina, "a more business-friendly climate," with lower costs and generous government incentives, he said.

"North Carolina is literally giving us millions of dollars" in employee training and for other assistance, said Deal, who is investing $6.5 million and will employ 300 people at Cobia's new headquarters in Marion, N.C. "In Florida, the state said to us it really didn't care. Florida is focused on biotech."

The Sunshine State's marine industry is feeling the squeeze on multiple fronts: Rising costs for labor and real estate; a push for condos on the waterfront; a shortage of skilled labor; and soaring insurance costs -- just as other Southeast states are courting boat builders to replace thousands of jobs in their shrinking furniture and textile industries.

The list of South Florida companies seizing opportunities in nearby states is growing:

Moore's Marine Inc. of Riviera Beach in Palm Beach County, which repairs wooden boats, is moving to Beaufort, N.C., and will employ 25 workers.

Mako Marine Inc. relocated from Opa-locka in Miami-Dade County and aims to employ 80 in Forest City, N.C.

Contender Boats Inc., formerly of Homestead in Miami-Dade County, is setting up in Baxley, Ga., and plans to employ 500 people.

Worse yet, marine leaders forecast an even greater exodus to come unless Florida recognizes boat-building and recreational boating as a "target industry" and boosts incentives. Some worry the outflow -- and mounting pressures for boat repair yards to sell out to condo developers -- could start unraveling the state's broader marine industry, which pumps more than $13 billion a year into South Florida alone, according to a recent study.

"If you start peeling away layers of our critical mass, we'll no longer be the yachting capital of the world," warned Frank Herhold, executive director of Marine Industries Association of South Florida, the 800-company group that commissioned the study.

Florida leaders say they take all manufacturing seriously, citing approval of a sales tax break on factory equipment as proof of that commitment.

Gov. Jeb Bush recently announced nearly $237,000 in grants to keep boat builder Sea Ray Boats and its 644 jobs in Flagler County, with the money to fund roadways, sidewalks and drainage projects. And more money is available from the road fund and other sources to keep jobs in Florida on a project-by-project basis, said Erin Heston, a spokeswoman for Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development partnership.

But North Carolina goes the extra mile for boat builders -- helping them with specialized staff before, during and after they invest, Deal and other executives said.

It's not just that costs are lower in the Tar Heel State. (Cobia's outlay for worker's compensation insurance is about $250,000 a year less than in Florida, Deal said.) "It's more about the ability to get things done."

A case in point: Deal said he awarded a bid to a contractor in Charlotte in mid-December, and by April, started to build his first boat in a 110,000-square-foot facility. "In many parts of Florida, we'd still be trying to get a permit," he said.

North Carolina push

To understand the depth of North Carolina's commitment, look no further than Mike Bradley. He's the full-time marine trades specialist with North Carolina's small business outreach program.

Bradley started working with North Carolina in 1993 to provide technical assistance to existing boat builders and the companies that supply them, such as plastic makers. He'd often accompany executives from those companies to trade shows to help them market their wares and, thereby, boost jobs in the industry and state.

But in the past five years, after North Carolina deemed boat-building a target industry, he's started actively recruiting marine companies, too. He's often at boat shows across the country, touting the state's incentive programs including what's billed as the first community college program geared specifically to the marine industry.

Bradley figures about 100 companies involved with boat-building now call North Carolina home, up from about 85 a decade ago. And he's talking with another 75 now, including "maybe 30 or 40 percent from Florida," he said.

Among his best prospects: boat builders looking to expand in Florida and other states, who find they can't afford pricey waterfront land also coveted by condo developers in the area.

"A boat manufacturer isn't always the neighbor that high-end developers want," Bradley said. "A company goes to the local county permitting guy, and they used to love you. Now, they don't return your calls. I hear that a lot."

Even boat builders remaining in Florida feel the strain.

Skip Braver, who owns custom speedboat maker Cigarette Racing Team, recently relocated his 115-employee operation from Miami's waterfront to 10 acres inland in Opa-locka to expand. "We have to trailer the boats a half-hour away [to the water]," he said. "That's a pain."

Braver vows to never move Cigarette from South Florida, where it has long been associated with the Miami Vice TV series and the area's dynamic lifestyle. But he'd like more help from government, as his costs skyrocket.

"Probably the biggest problem we're facing is hurricane insurance," he said, noting his annual premium now runs about eight times the cost for fire insurance, a greater risk at his inland spot.

Other states have offered Cigarette tempting deals, even some with huge air-conditioned buildings for $1 a year. "If I was starting a fresh fishing boat company, I'd have to go outside Florida," Braver said.

Adding to woes for boat builders, boatyards and even condo developers are hurdles and delays in obtaining permits for new marine slips, especially in South Florida.

"Why should a developer go through five years jumping through a zillion hoops, when he can buy the boatyard and already have permits for the slips?" Herhold said.

Broward County, for example, has 13 boatyards, down from 19 just five years ago. And most have purchase offers on the table, threatening to further erode critical mass for the industry, he said.

To boost marine business, Herhold and others suggest Florida consider a Cabinet-level position for the marine industry, as California already has, or at least a state-backed marketing group, much like the Florida Citrus Commission. Those groups could help raise awareness about the industry and advocate for incentives and other support.

Otherwise, Deal predicts in the next decade, most makers of small boats will leave the state, while yards that make megayachts will start selling out to condo developers.

"At some point, the government has to realize that there's a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry that's getting ready to go away," Deal said, "and they have to care."

Doreen Hemlock can be reached at [email protected] or 305-810-5009.

fund razor

That was Christopher Smith's CC in Algonac.

The company has been sold 3 times since then.

-OMC
-Murray
-The new guys who own Indian.

hpoffshore

Don't forget that some of the industry leaders are already(and have been forever) in the Carolinas, including; Fountain, Hatteras, Albemarle, Regulator, Carolina Classic, Jarrett Bay, Davis, just to name a few. The move will be a bonus for many retail dealerships nationwide, as well, with regards to escalating shipping costs from the manufacturers.
Hugh

woogie

Yep heard the same .. plus they got close to 5 mil. from State and few more mil. from City Of Holland in tax breaks over 12 yrs. and 200k in job training for building the 300k sq.ft. addition. Haven't been in it yet but heard latest robotic tech. Agree with Dyno too.. amazing the incentives flying around out there - Thought I read where Google got 38mil. in incetives to set up shop in Ann Arbor? But they have to hire 2000 to claim it.

Miss CC being here ..liked to stop there and ck out the Chris Cats. That company really had some bad ceo's over the years.. Ed McMann from tonight show.. what the... and F.Lee Baily the attorney.. got even worse.. Hope they are doing better now. Been seeing more and more of those retro CC runabouts around. New BoatWerks resturant on Mac has bit of a Crissy theme ..all that's left here.

open87

iTrader: (2)

wow

CAP071

I really don't care where they are built, just how well they are built

copiercat

in this mornings sarasota herald tribune newspaper it went into a lot of detail about the move and Chris Craft is NOT closing its plant here, its just going to be adding some new lines of boats that are bigger for the new N.C. plant, one of the reasons they picked the location was for its proximity to the airport to shuttle people and things back and forth to both plants. but who knows what will be in a few years anyway