Land, sea and markets are too good to pass up
A fast-growing Massachusetts yacht manufacturer is moving its entire operation to the Melville Marine Complex in Portsmouth, a waterfront development on former Navy land that the state has been working to turn into a marine business hub.
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Hunt Yachts, an offshoot of the prestigious Boston yacht design firm C. Raymond Hunt Associates, has been growing rapidly, with sales increasing by 31 percent in the last year and an average of 40 percent per year in the past three years, according to the company.
“We just outgrew our original facilities,” said President Peter Van Lancker, so Hunt Yachts had been looking for a new location for about two years, seeking not only more space, “but more functional space as well, to improve efficiency and boost productivity.”
Portsmouth wasn’t the first place Hunt Yachts looked, Van Lancker said; the company actually considered three different options in Fall River first. But two of those weren’t feasible and the third fell by the wayside when this property became available.
The new building, which includes more than 24,000 square feet of production space, as well as offices for sales personnel, marketers, engineers and managers, was vacated this spring by Alden Yachts, which is also growing and has moved into a larger facility in Bristol.
At twice the size of Hunt’s old plant, the facility could accommodate up to twice the current production level, or about 80 yachts per year, Van Lancker said. It’s also set up for yacht production already, so very little work was needed to adapt it, and it can take larger sizes than Hunt’s current line of 25- to 36-foot Deep-V yachts.
An additional 12,000-square-foot building will be used for indoor storage of Hunt customers’ boats. The facilities also include bulkhead space and 600 feet of dockage.
But the real selling point, Van Lancker said – the factor that got Hunt to move out of its home state – was the location. Directly to its north and south are the prestigious Hinckley Yachts and New England Boatworks. Nearby, the R.I. Economic Development Corporation is preparing another parcel for use by marine companies.
About a quarter-mile to the south, O’Neill Properties is building a large marina as part of the Carnegie Abbey complex. And close by, of course, there’s Newport – the ultimate marketplace.
“It was kind of a no-brainer,” Van Lancker said. He added that the availability of other buildings and open land will make it easy to stay in the Melville Marine Complex, even if the company outgrows this facility in the future.
Paul Harden, the business and work force development manager for the RIEDC and the point man for Hunt Yachts in its move, said bringing the company to Rhode Island is a victory because “it’s a very prestigious name,” it’s a growing business, and it builds on an economic cluster that is already strong.
The East Bay has “hundreds of companies” that support the marine trades, Harden noted, with everything from fiberglass to boat railings to interiors made locally. And Newport “is a real Mecca for boating,” he said, so attracting customers should be easy.
In a news release about the move, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri said it was “further evidence that we have created one of the strongest and most competitive business climates for the marine trades industry within the United States,” with 3,000 employees already in the sector.
Hunt Yachts’ manufacturing operation moved in the first few days of August. The sales team and office staff are slated to move in early next month.
