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August 2006
edition |
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Chris-Craft (and Indian Motorcycles) Relocate to North Carolina
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Forbes: NC Third in Nation for Business
Forbes magazine has named North Carolina the third-best state in
the nation for conducting business. States were ranked against each
other in six different categories: business costs, labor, regulatory
environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life.
Ranking behind only Virginia and Texas, respectively, North Carolina
finished among the top four states in three of the six categories.
North Carolina ranked third in regulatory environment and fourth in
both business costs and growth prospects. The state finished 26th in
labor and quality of life and 30th in economic climate. Site
Selection magazine ranked North Carolina fifth in the nation last
year in terms of business climate, and Expansion Magazine placed the
state fourth for workforce training. (Triangle Business Journal,
8/16/06)
Kent Fulton - Washington NC Marina Professional to be Missed
Kent Fulton, 58, passed away on Tuesday, July 4, 2006 at his home in Washington, NC. Kent was vice president of Carolina Wind Yachting Center, Inc., a United States Coast Guard Licensed Captain, past president of the North Carolina Marina Association, and a longtime advisor to NC Marine TradeWinds marina efforts. He was a lifelong sailing enthusiast who spent his last day on the water with family and friends. Kent was President of Downtown Washington on the Waterfront and a founding member of the 2007 Pamlico Boat Show.
Boating Industry Company Updates
The NC boating industry is doing very well. We have some great updates from boating companies. Below is a brief overview of the updates. Read more for details...
- Cobia Boats officially announced the relocation to the
McDowell County Industrial Park in Marion in August of 2005 and
had its first production run in April 2006.
- Egret Boat Company announced its relocation to the
Beaufort County Industrial Park in Washington.
- Legacy Paddlesports announced in June of 2006 that it
recently acquired Rhode Island-based Heritage Kayaks and will
relocate the company to a plant near Jamestown.
- Moores Marine officially announced that it would begin
shifting it major restoration projects to its new facility in
Jarrett Bay Marine Industrial Park in Beaufort in early 2006.
- Smokey Mountain Jet Boats is based in Bryson City and
was founded on New Zealand state-of-the-art aluminum boats
technology.
NC Boat Building Survey Underway
The North Carolina boating industry has seen both growth and attrition in the past several months (see stories in this issue about Chris Craft, Moores Marine, Cobia, Egret Boats, Smokey Mountain Jet Boats, Legacy Paddlesports, and others). We have been working hard to contact every boat building company in the state and hope we have succeeded - but we know better. There are custom builders starting up in towns from Manteo to Bryson City that we find out about by luck and serendipity. We need your help to locate missing NC boat builders and ask that you identify boat building firms not found on our builder site, http://www.ncwaterways.com/boatbuilders/boatbuild_search.asp. You can email Mike.Bradley@NCwaterways.com with builders we may have missed.
NC Group Funds Consultants on Behalf of AIW Maintenance
The NC Beach, Inlet & Waterway Association (NCBIWA) announced that effective August 1, 2006 it has retained Marlowe & Company LLC, a Washington, DC governmental affairs consulting firm to work on securing adequate federal funding for maintenance of North Carolina's federally-authorized shallow draft inlets and its segment of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
Funding for this ongoing advocacy effort is being provided from within NCBIWA's regular operating budget, which is made up of annual memberships, sponsorships and donations from local governments, civic associations, businesses and individuals who care greatly about North Carolina's coast. For more information on NCBIWA, go to http://www.ncbiwa.org or write to coastal@ncbiwa.org.
IBEX 2006 - NC Exhibitor Information
By this time, NC IBEX exhibitors should be done with their exhibit and advertising plans and well into development of their one-on-one marketing efforts with buyer companies. Hoping the representative will come by your booth through serendipity is a poor second place to setting up appointments, getting cell phone numbers for the contacts and then reaffirming the meeting dates and times. Now is also a good time to set up your follow-up system so you know what you are going to do with the notes you scribble down right after a new lead walks away from your booth. Read more...
The 2006 IBEX presents full-day immersion in special seminar topics that are in demand among boat building professionals. They run from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Of special note is Super Session 100 on Closed-Molding Basics given Wednesday, November 1, 2006 and utilizing our own NC-MARTEC director, David Flagler.
Read what David has to say about these sessions...
Oregon Inlet Impact Study Shows Value of NC Boating Industry
A 211-page [Internet] document entitled, "A Study of the Benefits of Oregon Inlet to the Economy of Dare County and the Surrounding Region," was prepared by Moffat & Nichol for the Dare County Inlet and Waterways Commission. It reviews all aspects of the revenue stream associated with the inlet, including the commercial fishing, boat building, recreational fishing, sport fishing and tourism industries. The objective of the report was to examine the benefits of keeping the inlet navigable to the region. Read more and download the study...
Affordable Health Care Options
The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) magazine CM (Composites Manufacturing) recently ran and posted an excellent summary of Health Care Options well worth your time. It is entitled "Too Late for Affordable Health Care Options" and is by Mark Battersby: http://www.acmanet.org/CM/0706/feature_e0706.cfm.
Of interest: "Under our federal tax laws, self-employed composites manufacturing professionals and business owners may deduct from their gross income 100 percent of amounts paid during the year for health insurance for themselves, spouses and dependents. The deduction is limited to the professional's net annual income derived from that self-employment, minus the deduction for 50 percent of the self-employment tax and/or the deduction for contributions to Keogh, self-employed SEP or SIMPLE plans" Read the full article above and then talk to your legal and accounting professionals.
2005 Recreational Boating Miscellaneous Data - NMMA
The 2005 Recreational Boating Miscellaneous Data is now available. Here are a few of the highlights:
- Boaters continued to purchase slightly larger, better
equipped boats in 2005, increasing the average boat price by 8%
compared to sales in 2004.
- NC ranks 6th in the distribution of purchases of new
powerboat, motor, trailer and accessories across the US.
- Of the top 20 states for 2005 new powerboat, motor, trailer
and accessory retail sales, SC ranked number one with a 32%
increase followed by NC with 21%.
- Boat registrations declined by one-tenth of a point in 2004 - approx. 13,000 units - with NC coming in 11th overall across the US showing a decline of 0.8% in 2004.
Are Mega and Super Yacht Facilities in our Future?
We continue to have strong interest from major yacht manufacturers and yacht restoration companies that want mid-Atlantic locations for either relocation or additional facilities. Some of the companies we are talking with also build and repair large ferry boats, ocean tugs and barges, and other commercial vessels as well as military ships. These facilities need relatively deep water for 100 to 3,000 metric ton vessels and 20 - 40 acres of property with enough adjacent-to-the-water property to transport the vessels to and from the building/restoration buildings. The water depth needed depends on how the yachts are lifted out of the water but 18 feet is the goal. These companies will invest $10-15 million for vessel lift/transfer systems, and invest many more millions in the buildings and facilities (100,000 to 500,000 sq. ft.) to appropriately accommodate for environmental compliance and work quality. Read more...
