Everybody wants to help you make it through this tough economy, don’t they? Who to believe? Tempting as it might be to drop your prices or sell a cheaper product, there is a chorus of voices out there all singing the same song: “Don’t do it!” Amid the cacophony are these useful bits of conventional [...]

By Sigrid Tornquist Can learning science through the study of biological oceanic projects and learning math through marine fabrication give high school students the tools they need for life after high school? Mike Erickson, MFC, who was a founding board member of the Riviera Beach Maritime Academy, thinks so. And so does the Marine Industry [...]

By Denby Browning John Anderson, CEO of Riviera Yachts, Australia’s largest luxury boat-builder, warns that the marine industry is in a period of rapid change and businesses need to constantly reinvent themselves. “In our market—luxury boats between 40 and 70 feet—we are moving away from canvas and clears, as our owners want enclosed hard-top models,” [...]

Building the cost of recycling into a project’s cost is a popular idea, but in a competitive market, extra costs could drive customers to cheaper alternatives, unless recycling is mandated for everyone. Intensely debated is whether government or trade organization mandates would even the playing field. Bob McGilvray, general manager at Ferrari Textiles Corp., Pompano [...]

By Jeff Rasmussen Changes cited by suppliers and end-product manufacturers in the survey ran the gamut from having a greater number of fabrics to choose from to the dramatic increase in the prices of key materials, especially petroleum-based fabrics. Specific changes cited include: For suppliers Many more fabric choices are available worldwide. More acrylic suppliers [...]

By Jeff Rasmussen Survey results show that suppliers and end-product manufacturers are feeling the impact of a more competitive environment resulting from trends such as low-cost imports, price discounting and slow market growth due largely to a weak economy. These trends have caused many marine end-product manufacturers to diversify their businesses to compete more effectively. [...]

By Peter Hildebrandt Ryan Polcyn of Dr. Shrink Inc. supplies shrinkwrap to fabricators. Shrinkwrapping is typical offseason work for marine fabricators. Polcyn finds that their downtime depends on location and climate. “Our sales pick up considerably September to November due to snow and cold weather across many areas of the United States,” Polcyn says. “In [...]

By Peter Hildebrandt Pat Fleischman of Bear Creek Canvas in Spencer, Wis., has worked on boat canvases in the past, but camper work now is the company’s mainstay. He found great success working with canvases for his pop-up camper trailer repair business for some 14 years now. Bear Creek Canvas is in the dry, central [...]

By Roy Katz Make a “to see” shopping list. List the booths that interest you by aisle number, booth number and company name. Use markers to color code the list into several groups: “must see,” “want to see,” and “looks like an interesting company or product.” Keep your eyes open for the small company you [...]

By Chris Sharp, MFC Glass cutting Cracks in the glass are caused by: Not cutting deep enough before bending Sewing through a scratch made by the razor blade; never cut paper away while still on the glass; always fold paper to cut away Excessive back tacking Allowing too much motion on high stress points Sewing [...]