Every year in the Netherlands HISWA Holland Yachting Group organised an annual trade mission called the Yacht Valley Tour: Project Managers & Purchasing every year. It sends out invitations to participants on behalf of HYG members and coordinates the event.
Purchasing managers, build supervisors and project managers from international superyacht yards all agree: Dutch suppliers stand head and shoulders above the competition. This is clear from the feedback received after the HISWA Holland Yachting Group’s annual trade mission, the Yacht Valley Project & Purchasing Managers Tour.
Quality of Holland’s Yacht Building Suppliers Confirmed
Twenty participants from international intermediaries visited 23 supply companies from the HISWA Holland Yachting Group between 27 and 30 March. The objective was to allow potential customers to become familiar with the quality of Dutch suppliers. “This tour is a great chance to witness the entire process as well as meet the operational staff,” comments Jonathan James, chief estimator of the UK yard Devonport Yachts Ltd. “My overall impression after these four days is that the quality of the Dutch yacht construction industry is truly impressive, as are the facilities available to the companies and, not least, the craftsmanship. Dutch suppliers are well organised and clearly know their audience.”
Fabio Marcellino, product manager of the Ferretti Group, also sees the Netherlands as a model to be followed. “The best yacht builders are Dutch. They allow owners to leave their mark on the design, which is clearly reflected in the details and ensures a distinctive feel for the yachts. Project & Purchasing Managers tour gives us a chance not only to look behind the scenes at the companies we visit, but also to learn from them. Customers have become more demanding – this is good for competition, and competition is good for the market.”
Lawrence Lee Wai Man, purchasing manager at Kingship Marine Limited in Hong Kong, adds: “It was my boss who advised me to take part in this tour, saying that Holland is the perfect place to see where the highest quality products are. It is no coincidence that between forty to fifty percent of the suppliers with whom we work are based in the Netherlands. The companies’ service provision is truly impressive.”
Struik & Hamerslag and Rondal were among the 23 suppliers visited by the participants. Both see this Yacht Valley tour as a key tool to have the right people visiting their company and see the excellent infrastructure of the Dutch yacht building industry. According to Remco Zeevaarder, senior account manager at Rondal, “This is the ideal opportunity to show the extent of your expertise to a select group of decision makers and influencers. We accomplish this by explaining our company’s internal organisation and displaying products. We want them to see that that they can get everything they could possibly need for a top quality yacht in the Netherlands, from deck equipment to air conditioning, from integrated navigation and communications systems to masts. Holland is a one-stop shopping country.”
“As a company, we do our part to contribute to the image of the Netherlands as a yacht building superpower,” confirms Marco Struik, managing director of Struik & Hamerslag. “We do this among other things by enhancing quality with transparency. The tour participants can see behind the scenes and have a closer look at almost everything we do. To maintain our leading position, we make sure that our research and development always stays one step ahead.”
