Boatbuilders Ride Wave of Success

The two-day boat show in Invercargill creates national exposure for Southland’s marine building industry.  Business reporter Natasha Holland uncovers some of the success stories in the south.

One of the most buoyant industries emerging in Southland is coming from an innovative band of boatbuilders.

Dean Wilkes, who started Image Boats five years ago, remembers with a smile his first attempts at water-skiing.

In those days it meant being up-right and freezing. “There were no wetsuits in those days,” Mr Wilkes said jokingly.

Another memory from those family holidays at Kingston is a love of boats. Today, Mr Wilkes’ business is a fairly typical representation of boatbuilders in Invercargill.

It’s driven by an owner passionate about boats, is creative in design and is steadily increasing solid turnover for the books.

And all of this is being done with that solid Southland tradition of a low profile.  But that profile is rising as they earn top reputations nationally and internationally.

Mr Wilkes believes, on a per head of population basis, it is unusual to find such a concentration of boatbuilders.

He finished his trade as an engineer and worked with boatbuilding firms in Australia before returning to New Zealand.  He spent time with Stabicraft, Gough Bros and Kiwi-Kraft Marine.

Starting out as a one-man-band he built leisure and commercial boats for the domestic market.

He has six staff and next year will expand his headquarters.

What is unusual is that none of the builders overlaps or seriously competes against each another. “We all seem to have niche industries that we build for. At this stage we have our own markets that we are targeting”

By Natasha Holland "The Southland Times"

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