October 2003 - NC Marine TradeWinds Newsletter

SBTDC NC Marine Trades Services - Mike Bradley, Editor

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Topics

IBEX – Miami (October 27 – 29) Features 17 NC Exhibitors – Support Them

IBEX refresher: show has new dates, a new venue, and new ownership. Professional BoatBuilder magazine and National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) now have one trade-only show for the boatbuilding industry, held at the Miami Beach (Florida) Convention Center. Visit www.IBEXshow.com to make last minute plans. The exhibit trade floor is open to business representatives, but not to the public.

 

If you go, use our help and our booth (NCwaterways at booth #127) as a contact and “meet” location. Protect your NC tax base and grow a few more jobs by visiting the NC booth and buying NC when competitive. Seventeen North Carolina companies will be exhibiting at this show.  They include: Accu-Form Polymers, Advanced Technology, Conbraco Industries, Diesel Equipment Co., DNA Group, Glen Raven Mills, HK Research Corporation, IPS Weld-On Corporation, Lawrence Marine – The Novaflex Group, Lord Corporation, Marine Systems, Morbern USA, Piedmont Plastics, Reichhold, Saertex USA Sea Tech, Shuford Mills, Southtech Plastics, Technicon Industries, The Gartner Group, Victory Bolt & Specialty, and our NCwaterways.com booth. If we missed your NC company, let us know at the show.

 

 

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IBEX-U a Success in Greenville

Over 20 NC businesses were represented as exhibitors and hundreds of representatives from the NC boat builder industry attended, in spite of reduced attendance due cleanup and lost production time in the aftermath of Hurricane Isabelle. Show comments were mixed (as usual), with exhibitors wanting more trade contacts and sales prospects and builder representatives encouraged and drawn to the show by the seminars, but not signing up and taking them. This is an important event that should be given another go. It allows employees and a number of owners the opportunity to “do IBEX” without the expense of time and money needed to attend the annual show in Florida. For this even, our participation was funded by Progress Energy, ElectriCities, Electric Cooperatives and the SBTDC, and our program was both an exhibitor and an endorsing sponsor for the two-day boat building trade show and conference held in Greenville September 23rd and 24th.

 

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National / Regional NC Boatbuilding Training Discussion Begins

With IBEX-U as the backdrop, Carteret, Pamlico, and Craven Community Colleges officials and the ABYC (American Boat and Yacht Council) met to discuss training for the boatbuilding industry in North Carolina. A reception, moderated by the NC Marine Trades Services and funded by Carteret County Economic Development Council, provided an opportunity for ABYC president, Skip Burdon, to discuss standardized marine curriculum efforts, training programs to meet boatbuilding needs and creation of career development standards. The invitation-only reception brought together over 40 individuals from product companies, boat builders and educators including ECU and Community Colleges. The focus was the Marine Training and Education Center (MARTEC) located on the campus of Carteret Community College in Morehead City.

 

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Bradley Addresses NC Manufacturer’s Association in Charlotte

MTS program director Mike Bradley gave an overview of the NC boatbuilding industry and its important economic impact in the state. This statewide association has established a boatbuilding section and follows NC and Federal legislation that currently impacts or may eventually impact the growth of this industry. Industry and manufacturing jobs are moving out of NC, leaving boatbuilding one of the few “heritage” industries in NC that is experiencing growth. The set of talks included NC Speakers James Black and Richard Morgan, Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, John Locke Foundation president John Hood, James Leonard, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, and others. These talks provided insight, but not a lot of manufacturing growth optimism. To see some of the issues being addressed by the NCMA that impact the boating industry, click this link NCMA or contact Jim Bell, Executive Director of the NCMA at (919) 782-8416 or NCMA@nc.rr.com.

 

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Stormwater Discharge Permit Compliance – 5 Year Group Permit Expires Soon

Those marinas, boatyards and boat builders that signed on and joined the NC General Stormwater Permit (General Permit NCG19000) about five years ago will be learning that the original permit expires in August of 2004. If your business has its name on the books as a permit holder, then you are likely to receive notice (and solicitations from consulting companies) regarding the permit. It may not be a bad idea to hire a consultant, and it is not clear if there will be an opportunity for a group permit like before. Many additional marine businesses have come under these permit guidelines in the past five years and there may be an opportunity for a group effort.

 

This webpage, www.ncwaterways.com/BusinessAssistance/Regulatory/Waterfront/StormWater/SW_Index.htm, is an index of the state’s program and an overview of what will be expected. The renewal will likely include site inspections, water monitoring and analysis, a revision of your Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) if it is required. There are approximately 30 businesses that were part of the original group permit.

 

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Assistance and Suggestions for Businesses Incurring Hurricane Damage

Many marine businesses that received damage during the storm have not yet called to receive a FEMA number – and that maybe a mistake. You don’t have to file anything if you receive the number, but only get assistance by having an identifying number. You can find most of the information you will need from www.NCwaterways.com home page (click on Isabel scroll). You can also call our SBTDC disaster relief offices: GREENVILLE @ (252) 328-6183, ROCKY MOUNT @ (252) 467-0338 and ELIZABETH CITY @ (252) 335-3247. Counselors at these offices will help you put your business paperwork together for the SBA loan requirements and will have the latest information on new relief and assistance information.

 

A few key areas that are new or have been updated:

q       Employers and employees may be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Benefits. Review your eligibility by clicking here: Filing for Disaster Unemployment Assistance. October 23, 2003 is the deadline. Find the ESC office nearest you. Click on this link: ESC Offices and www.ncesc.com.

q       Filing deadline for physical damage is November 17th, 2003 until further notice

q       Filing deadline for economic damage is June 18th, 2004

q       NEW - SBA Fact Sheet - provides a look at counties involved and describes the types of loans, the credit requirements, and the interest rates. Click here

 

 

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Buy-Sell Agreements

An article in the Marine Business Journal for August 2003 outlines the need for most businesses to create a Buy/Sell Agreement among the partners / owners / shareholders of the business. The agreements are designed for corporations (“S” and “C”), partnerships, LLC, and basic partnerships. The reasons for the agreement are many, including providing orderly continuation of ownership and control of the business in the case of death, divorce, bankruptcy, etc. of any of the partners. Christopher Jarvis and David Mandell, authors of Wealth Protection: Build & Preserve Your Financial Fortress, wrote the article. Information is available at www.mywealthprotection.com.

 

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NC Marine Construction License

North Carolina has a new S (Marine Construction) classification that became effective at the beginning of the year. It is not a required license for the majority of marine construction companies that primarily work on the structures of dock, slips and piers and is not meant to be required for the basic small dock projects. The scope of the license wording, however, is a bit ambiguous as it “covers all marine construction and repair activities and all types of marine construction in deep-water installations and in harbors, inlets, sounds, bays, and channels; covers dredging, construction and installation of pilings, piers, decks, docks, and bulkheads.”

 

The thrust of the license appears to be oriented toward major concrete construction projects including bridges and big money projects. The exam reference information is shown on page 17 of the NC License Information Bulletin found at http://www.experioronline.com/pdf/nc03_20030407.pdf. The reference books are available by calling the state-contracted exam agency, Experior Assessments, at 1-(877) 624-2562 and asking for the NC S(marine construction) references. See basic information on www.NCwaterways.com under the Business Assistance Tab.

 

 

 

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Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Program - An NMMA release

 

The Marine Trades Services is a program of the Small Business Technology Development Center (SBTDC). The SBTDC is a business development service of The University of North Carolina operated in partnership with the US Small Business Administration.