There is still time to register for the 2017 MFA Conference in Jacksonville, Fla. The event, January 19-21, is designed to help marine fabricators cultivate industry connections while improving business efficiencies and revenue. The 2016 conference had one of the best attendance records ever, and a similar turnout is expected for the 2017 conference. The [...]

Asking the right questions before choosing a digital marketing partner can save you time and money. There was a time when digital marketing could casually be left to employees who were interested in dabbling in online options. Now, however, digital marketing has grown up. Every business needs a plan that genuinely integrates traditional marketing efforts [...]

This issue of Marine Fabricator focuses on many of those business factors that keep customers coming through your doors. You have probably heard the saying, “God is in the detail.” Or, conversely, “The devil is in the detail.” Either way, successful business owners and managers naturally juggle dozens of concurrent factors in their day-to-day operations. [...]

If you are a marine fabricator who lives in a cold climate, you need to make the most of warm months when customers are motivated to get their boats in tip top condition. Those warm months are when you can expect a healthy infusion of cash, but that cash has to be carefully budgeted for [...]

Many readers of Marine Fabricator are business owners. Whether you own a business or work for someone, you regularly encounter obstacles that need to be solved to meet your obligations. Problem solving often requires great persistence or a quality known as grit—the resourcefulness and mental toughness to complete a task, despite frustrations and setbacks. Speaking [...]

These days, customers are driving the marine fabrication industry to move faster, and that means finding opportunities to make every stage of production move as quickly as possible. In fact, many marine technological advances have emerged, in part, because of end users’ feedback. “We are constantly working to improve how easy it is to pattern, [...]

Like many manufacturing industries, marine fabricators continually struggle with maintaining the right mix and amount of inventory to use in the production of their custom products. Sure, you can invest in comprehensive inventory management software to translate your inventory management into effective production processes. However, other inventory techniques can also result in an improved bottom [...]

Every marine fabrication business faces an increasing amount of red tape in the form of rules, regulations, fees and taxes. At the same time enforcement on every level is becoming more aggressive and issue-focused—with even more costly results. Experienced fabricators know that tax mistakes are sometimes inevitable. Fortunately, a combination of unique tax write-offs and [...]

Positive outlook projected for marine businesses. Six years after the world economy emerged from the Great Recession of 2009, a return to a strong global expansion remains elusive. The downside risks to the world economy appeared more noticeable than ever in 2015. Economic growth has improved in the advanced economies—the United States, Japan and Europe. [...]

If you are a regular reader of Marine Fabricator, you have probably noticed that Jim Tarbox’s photo is missing from this page—either that or he has drastically changed his look. Jim hasn’t changed his look, but he has stepped down as editor of this publication, and I’m taking over his duties. I will be the [...]