Oregon boatbuilder shifts its focus to commercial market NORTH-RIVER BOATS

[JUSTINTIME]

North River Boats announced plans to shift its focus from the recreational boating market to commercial contracts.




The company did layoff some workers because of the restructuring, Amy McKillop, marketing coordinator for the company, told Soundings Trade Only. She would not elaborate on the number of people who lost jobs.



“We aren’t planning any further layoffs. We did have a minimal restructuring so there were a few layoffs earlier this month,” she said. “Commercial boats are typically bigger and take longer (to manufacture) and use less people … and that’s really why the layoffs happened.



“It’s not necessarily a response to the economy or anything like that. It was a response to the shift in focus,” she added.



The Roseburg, Ore.-based company was recently awarded two large commercial contracts as well as numerous smaller commercial contracts. As a result, North River Boats has decided to dedicate more resources to increasing its market share in the commercial sector.



North River plans to continue producing about 1,200 recreational boats a year, McKillop said.



“We’re just able to do it with a reduced labor force based on efficiency we’ve gained throughout the years and improved technology,” she added.



While North River Boats has not experienced a reduction in demand for their recreational models, it is expected the recreation market will soften during the summer months as a result of the expected closure of the salmon fisheries off the California and Oregon coasts.



“The recreation market is closely tied to the availability of healthy and viable fishing opportunities. With the reduction of fishing opportunity comes the inevitable reduction in recreation boat sales,” owner Brian Brush said in a statement.



North River Boats, which builds aluminum boats ranging from 18-32 feet, has one manufacturing plant and seven retail stores in Oregon, Washington and California.