Seawind Catamarans

[POH]

In Australia, it's a crime for directors to operate a company while "insolvent". So ... voluntary administration is generally when the directors push the company into bankruptcy (it is similar to Chapter 11 in the US). Directors tend to get edgy when they are even close to the bubble, so the company may not in fact be insolvent, but they don't want to take the personal risk.

The thing I find interesting about this is it looks like Seawind has simply moved offshore - they are still going to build Seawinds under Corsair in Vietnam. Maybe I'm too sceptical, but it seems odd that they had the funds to recently buy Corsair, but now must close the Oz operations and are able to hive off the Corsair company and will build Seawind in Vietnam. Almost like they had a plan ...

As Factor suggested, maybe it goes to show the effects of an Oz dollar at >US$1.05 while the minimum wage is so high (more than double US) that companies can't compete.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Sabbatical II

No, not true. They may be about to, or hopefully the administrator may be able to find a way to restructure the company without the burden of it's debts to forge a leaner organisation more suited to today's market. Let's talk up that possibility first!

Just spotted the other thread. Lets hope they can get their sh!t together in time.

[avb3]

Threads merged into one thread.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by POH

As Factor suggested, maybe it goes to show the effects of an Oz dollar at >US$1.05 while the minimum wage is so high (more than double US) that companies can't compete.

You think

Not to mention
Vietnam average monthly wage rises to $185 Vs Australian Average monthly wage at 31 times that amount

[Coops]

Originally Posted by muskoka

I think you just did "spread that stuff".....

That is exactly what i thought when i read it as well.

Coops.

[Lagoon4us]

Aussie labour rates are so very high i could not begin to see nor understand how a company could successfully manufacture in Australia.

To move construction offshore is sadly a given for most companies, most products for sale in Australia are of asian origin, we are resource rich and mining has driven wages and the Aussie dollar tremendously.

Our fiscal structure has also made the dollar attractive to investors, i don't believe our dollar is or has ever been driven by our manufacturing, we are an island a long way from the worlds markets.

Seawind's market in Australia was always going to be tough, in Australia there is a plethora of kit boats, one offs etc.

The name will carry through but sadly dealers will become importers hopefully for owners a parts inventory will be held in Australia...

Sad days indeed......

[webejammin]

Lets hope crafsmanship does no suffer being made in what ever country there made in. The Seawind 1000XL was one of our favirite cats before desiding to buy our Gemini 105Mc.

[Factor]

Regarding the concept of Voluntary Administration. I remind folk that Riveria, one of Australia's if not the worlds bigger boat builders (power boats) went into VA and successfully came out the other side as a solvent and profitable company, so VA is by no means a death sentence.

[dirkdig]

The cost of compliance,wages,insurance,materials,taxes,holiday pay,sick pay in Australia is just too much for most companies now.
Because of government regulations favouring the worker a lot of companies are moving offshore.
My staff are entitled to 4 weeks holidays, 2 weeks sick pay, 10 days compassionate/ family leave plus 11 public holidays paid for by the company.
Thats 51 days i pay for so people dont have to work for and get a full days pay.
A casual waiter gets $22.05per hour plus 9% employer paid superanuation.
If they work god forbid on a Sunday they get $37.92 per hour plus 9%
Not bad for a average kind of job.

Just too expensive to operate a business in Australia

[waikikin]

Originally Posted by dirkdig

The cost of compliance,wages,insurance,materials,taxes,holiday pay,sick pay in Australia is just too much for most companies now.
Because of government regulations favouring the worker a lot of companies are moving offshore.
My staff are entitled to 4 weeks holidays, 2 weeks sick pay, 10 days compassionate/ family leave plus 11 public holidays paid for by the company.
Thats 51 days i pay for so people dont have to work for and get a full days pay.
A casual waiter gets $22.05per hour plus 9% employer paid superanuation.
If they work god forbid on a Sunday they get $37.92 per hour plus 9%
Not bad for a average kind of job.

Just too expensive to operate a business in Australia

How about accepting that.......... the quoted benefits of work are the conditions of employment in the country you do business in.... & amortize(if that b a correct term) that cost to the days your workers are at work... & adjust your perception of the market you sell into. Or just fly in some take away from Vietnam instead of dining out. Jeff.

[dirkdig]

Facts are simple businesses big and small are dropping like flies.
Most are heading to Asia where there are hungry willing workers.
We have 3 levels of government for under 23 million people and a unemployed couple get $445 per week not to work,free medical and in a lot of cases a house for $50 per week.
Pretty easy to ship products back without the expenses.

Just today a 30 billion dollar project was cancelled due to the labour expense among other things and a 70 year old music retailer with 25% of the market went under,thats just one day.

Plus the Seawind administration.

[sparau]

Originally Posted by dirkdig

Because of government regulations favouring the worker a lot of companies are moving offshore.
My staff are entitled to 4 weeks holidays, 2 weeks sick pay, 10 days compassionate/ family leave plus 11 public holidays paid for by the company.
Thats 51 days i pay for so people dont have to work for and get a full days pay.
A casual waiter gets $22.05per hour plus 9% employer paid superanuation.
If they work god forbid on a Sunday they get $37.92 per hour plus 9%
Not bad for a average kind of job.

Just too expensive to operate a business in Australia

You should probably fix that last statement to "its nearly too expensive to operate a family in Australia".

[tuskie]

Originally Posted by sparau

You should probably fix that last statement to "its nearly too expensive to operate a family in Australia".

+1 for me.

Well paid workers, with high levels of skills and an education behind them can be efficient and productive workers. They may even be able to buy a catamaran one day!

Good luck to those whose business model is to exploit "a bowl of rice a day" hungry willing (Dirkdig!) Asian labour and export back to the country of origin.

Fusion Catamarans (another Aussie brand) initiated that model several years ago. I'm currently the interested observer of Fusion kit assembly that is being crafted locally (Australia) by an extremely talented professional engineer builder. The list of dramas and stuff ups that came with the kit from it's Thai factory would fill several pages. One of the stuff ups is that the gel coat supplied doesn't match the gel coat colour of the moulded parts. Reason? The gel coat supplied to the Thai factory came from a batching plant in Vietnam and nobody there knows or recorded what the formula for the colour was. Pay peanuts......
Another reason so many problems with the Fusion kit occurred despite a "state of the art" Thai manufacturing facility was that most of the "trained" staff fled as a result of the recent "red shirt" civil unrest.
So, government regulation can inconveniently enforce workers entitlements, but it can also lead to a stable society.

I sincerely hope that Seawind's Asian manufacture is more successful than Fusion's and that we don't have any more right wing rants in a boating forum.

[ausaviator]

The trick with Seawind in Vietnam is that they supposedly sent over Aussie workers to supervise the whole thing. They'll likely get sick of that quickly and it will be hard to find skilled replacements.

[Sand crab]

I am supposed to buy a cruising boat built in a country where I can't cruise? What's wrong with this picture? How the hell do they get them out of there?