Diversifying keeps this firm afloat

THROUGH THE STORM: C&C Fiberglass Components Inc. struggled through the recession. “My phones just stopped ringing,” owner Jose C. Daponte said.  But the Bristol company survived in better shape than most, with staffing now back up to 30. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
THROUGH THE STORM: C&C Fiberglass Components Inc. struggled through the recession. “My phones just stopped ringing,” owner Jose C. Daponte said. But the Bristol company survived in better shape than most, with staffing now back up to 30. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Some of the most successful, early fiberglass sailboats in the world were produced by designers and builders in Rhode Island’s East Bay.
So it’s not a surprise to see companies such as J/Boats Inc. of Newport and C&C Fiberglass Components Inc. of Bristol celebrating another Boat of the Year award last month for a new made-in-Rhode Island sloop.
The latest boat to draw state dignitaries and the marine-industry press to C&C Fiberglass’ Bristol shop floor was the J/70, a 23-foot, in-shore racing sailboat that won this year’s Sailing World magazine best-boat distinction.
Designed by J/Boats and built at C&C Fiberglass, the J/70 is an example of the self-sustaining nautical cluster of yacht-related industries in the East Bay.
Founded by Jose C. Daponte, a long-time shop foreman in East Coast boat-building businesses, C&C Fiberglass makes the hulls for not only J/Boats, but Portsmouth-based Hunt Yachts and two of its own brands, Albin Boats and NorthCoast Boats.
Although the company’s top asset is the knowledge and skill of its founder, a constant, hands-on presence on the shop floor, its future is now linked to other members of the Daponte family who have joined the enterprise as it’s grown.
His wife, Rosa Daponte, handles accounts receivable while a son, Craig Daponte, has become Jose’s right-hand man on the shop floor. Cesar Daponte, another son, has taken over bookkeeping and marketing.
“There is still a lot to be said for a family-run business,” said Cesar Daponte, who has an accounting degree. “I think it is a big value-added to be able say, ‘Here is the CEO’ and shake his hand.”
Founded in 1998 in a 12,000-square-foot Bristol warehouse space, the firm grew through the next decade to a 27,000-square-foot building. In 2006 it built its current 60,000-square-foot facility between Metacom Avenue and the Bristol Golf Club.
Like almost every corner of the recreational boating industry, C&C Fiberglass was rocked by the recession, which brought vessel sales – from yachts to dinghies – to a virtual halt.
For Daponte, that meant about a year of scraping by, starting in 2008, until things started to pick back up toward the end of 2009. “In October 2008, my phones just stopped ringing,” he said. “We went from 38 employees to 12. For us it lasted almost a year with big risks of dipping into lines of credit trying to meet payroll. Once we came out of it we were ahead of lots of people and have been stable since.”
The company’s relationship with J/Boats started when the 36-year-old Newport boat designer began searching for a new builder after Pearson Yachts, the Bristol pioneer of fiberglass sailboat design in the 1950s, ran into financial trouble.
In addition to the J/70, C&C Fiberglass makes the 28-foot J/95 and the 33-foot J/111.
Built for performance and to be launched by trailer, the J/70 has quickly become popular for its speed.
Where J/Boats makes mid-priced performance sailboats, Hunt Yachts is known for high-end, luxury powerboats with deep-v hulls.
“They’re like the Mercedes Benz of boat-building,” Cesar Daponte said of Hunt, whose leaders have known his father since the 1970s.
Unlike the J/Boats, which emerge with everything but spars and rigging, Hunt designs are made in separate components – hull, deck, hatches – and then sent to Hunt for assembly.
Since fiberglass vessel construction took off in the middle of the last century, the manufacturing process has evolved, but the basic concepts remain the same.
The primary advance is the infusion hull-making process, which involves adding layers of fiberglass around a mold while it is within a vacuum-sealed bag and injecting resin. Previously, resin was sprayed on the hull, with negative consequences for air quality.
Although boats are the largest part of C&C Fiberglass’ business, the company also makes, or has made, components for other sectors, including underground fuel storage and race cars.
But as the economy improves and more boating enthusiasts feel confident about their disposable income, the company expects the market for quality fiberglass to continue to grow.
“We’re trying to stay as diverse as possible and trying to develop new projects,” Daponte said. •COMPANY PROFILE
C&C Fiberglass Components Inc.
Owner: Jose C. Daponte
Type of Business: Fiberglass fabrication and boat manufacturing
Location: 75 Ballou Blvd., Bristol
Employees: 30
Year Established: 1998
Annual Sales: NA

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