SAFE, EFFICIENT, INNOVATIVE BOATS

Founded in 1996, SAFE Boats International designs and builds reliable, durable vessels that help keep military, law enforcement and fire professionals safe. Rob Goley, Director of Business Development and Strategy, spoke to Hannah Barnett.

Bremerton is home of SAFE Boats International, and is a coastal town in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. This location was a source of inspira tion to the founders of the company, who observed the rough waves and rocky shores of the Sound and spotted a gap in the market.

“Most of the boats that were out there before us were fibreglass or GRP hulls,” explained Director of Business Development and Strategy Rob Goley. “They weren’t optimised for the ruggedness of a military, government or first-responder mission. The company founders wanted to develop a boat that was durable, allowing crews to safely navigate rough waters, while efficiently conducting their missions.”

The boats

The mission statement that SAFE Boats started out with in 1996 continues today. The company designs and manufactures reliable and safe platforms not only for government, military and local first responders, but all professional mariners.

“We are what I call a semi-custom builder,” Mr Goley explained. “We have our own in-house engineering and design team that can, quite literally, take a customer's needs on paper and develop a platform from scratch that meets their exacting requirements.”

The boats are built in heavy gauge aluminium, ranging in size from seven to 26 metres. Aluminium has several distinct advantages over fiberglass, from less day-to-day maintenance to ease of repair. SAFE Boats hulls are constructed from marine-grade 5086 aluminium and are designed with performance and integrity as a priority.

SAFE Boats is kept busiest by government and military contracts within the US, though it has delivered projects to approximately 70 countries over the years. On average, SAFE Boats holds 25% of the domestic US market share.

Alongside its main projects, another string to the company’s bow comes from fulfilling contracts for super yacht tenders. “It’s a very custom market and we generally don’t advertise too much,” said Mr Goley. “We've got a discreet group of repeat customers that we will continue to support and build boats for.”

SAFE is an acronym standing for Secure Around Flotation Equipped, which refers to one of the stand-out qualities of the boats: the pioneering wrap-around collar design.

The company is not unique in the manufacture of such collars for boats, but as Mr Goley said: “the way that we make the collar, so that it interfaces and connects to the vessel and supports performance, is what sets us apart from the competition. Not only do our 100 per cent closed-cell foam collars provide protection for the vessel, but they're incredibly durable. We stick with 100 per cent foam, because there’s no air bladder that could pop and degrade a mission. If the foam collar material happens to get torn, the mission can continue. It also provides added protection and buoyancy for the vessel.”

The team

Specialised work requires a specialist team. SAFE Boats has one, with 250 employees boasting a combined 1,800 years of experience between them.

“We’ve got the best team in the industry,” Mr Goley said. “I'm a little biased, but they’re so talented. We manufacture most things in-house, and we’ve got an incredible group of craftsmen who are true artisans. All our boats are hand-welded. When people see the quality of the welding, they think it’s done by robots. But no, we've got very talented welders and fabricators who truly take pride in what they do.

“Likewise, our integrators for outfitting and electronics are amazing. They are craftsmen in their field. The quality of the integration of our platforms is not only a work of art, but it’s incredibly functional and easy to maintain for the end user. That's super important for us.”

SAFE Boats maintains three brand pillars: craft, concierge, and care. ‘Craft’ refers to the high-skill level of its team. ‘Concierge’ is inspired by the concept of a concierge in a hotel. This works as a model for the level of customer service the company promises to deliver, from the first interaction, all the way through to delivery, and onwards for the entire lifespan of the boat.

‘Care’ references the company’s commitment to constantly improving its product. “We want to know what the boat feels like as the customer is operating it, both functionally and ergonomically,” as Mr Goley put it. “And we take all that feedback and loop it back through. We are continually improving our designs, sometimes daily. We're not interested in producing cookie-cutter boats.”

The award

SAFE Boats received well-earned recognition as Manufacturer of the Year from the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in late 2022. AWB bestows this award to a Washington State manufacturer with a commitment to business excellence, able to demonstrate creative solutions to challenges which raise or enhance the industry standard.

The company were primed for the honour after achieving ISO 9001:2015 certification at its Bremerton Manufacturing and Customer Support Facility, as well as securing the company’s largest ever single project: a $119 million contract to build Mark VI Patrol Boats to be used in Ukraine.

“That’s really important,” Mr Goley said. “The Mark VI is under construction now and will be supporting the Ukrainian Navy. And the Mark VI contract was the catalyst that allowed us to reopen our Tacoma Large Craft Production facility, which will help position us for future growth and expansion into other vessels.”

There are currently three boats in production for the Mark VI contract, the first two will be delivered later in 2023. Production on the project is set to continue through to 2025.

The supply chain

As with any successful company, a strong relationship with a network of suppliers is essential. “We look at our supply chain as a member of our team,” said Mr Goley.

That closeness is not surprising when bearing in mind that SAFE Boats has worked with some of its suppliers since its inception. Mr Goley identified Allsalt Maritime, manufacturer of the shock seat brand, as one: “We were one of the early adopters for shock mitigation seating, back in in the late ‘90s and early 2000s.”

Mr Goley also acknowledged the company’s excellent relationships with outboard engine suppliers like Mercury Marine, Yamaha and Honda, as well as MTU and Caterpillar as reliable diesel engine providers: “over the years, they’ve supported us to make sure we get materials and parts on time.”

SAFE Boats is in the process of finalising a transition of ownership to become a 100% employee-owned business and it is hiring. As a company which prioritises its staff, Mr Goley emphasised that SAFE Boats is searching for more.

“We’re actively looking to build our team –from the manufacturing side primarily, as we continue our growth and sustainment plan,” he said. “We’re looking to hire another 30 or so team members in 2023. Anybody that is interested in coming to work with an amazing boat builder should take a look at our website.”