BOAT GOLD COAST
PANTAENIUS INSURANCE HQ now based at The Boat Works
P
antaenius Insurance has established an office at The Boat Works, among the next wave of marine brands and businesses to move into the Stage 3 tenancies at the North Yard. The global insurance giant Pantaenius has been winning the hearts (and boats) of Australians since its arrival into the Australasian market in 2012. Offering comprehensive coverage on the market, and a team of yachting enthusiasts, ensuring that vessel owners receive the best possible advice from the first phone call. The company is known for their hands-on approach, knowledgeable and approachable team, and superior insurance covering over 100,000 boats worldwide.
“We welcome the Pantaenius team to the marine precinct, which has become the preferred pit stop for local and travelling yachts of all sizes for refit and maintenance,” says Shane Subichin, General Manager at The Boat Works. Jamie McPhail, managing director at Pantaenius Australia, says the new Queensland headquarters was a logical progression for Pantaenius. “30 percent of our east coast claims are based at The Boat Works. We have several contractors on-site at The Boat Works, and we wanted to move closer to our customers and connect with them. It’s about being available, approachable and establishing our branding in Southeast Queensland.”
“We are unique in the market,” says Jamie. “We’re the only marine insurance team composed of boaties, not insurance people. We deal with 92 percent of our customers directly – cruising couples, families and catamaran owners. Only eight percent of our business is through brokers. Worldwide, we’ve insured more than a million boats in the past 15 years.” Locating their HQ at The Boat Works was an easy choice. According to Jamie, “Not only is most of our client base here, but the facility is also the largest, the newest, and the most appealing.” The Pantaenius team have expanded from their NSW headquarters to offer instant boat insurance quotations and cover to owners from the premises at The Boat Works. Other businesses to populate the purposebuilt professional facilities include OBE Electrical, Ultra Marine Products, Superyacht Solutions, Stella, Choice Stainless, and Bayline Marine Covers. ABOUT PANTAENIUS: The leading boat insurance specialist, offering an All Risk Policy for your yacht’s hull, machinery, equipment and gear. Cover extends to tenders, outboards and other personal effects used in conjunction with the yacht. Contact Chris Tilley on (07) 5649 6622 ctilley@pantaenius.com
SEAPEN DRY DOCKING
BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS D
by Allan's son, Mark Barber, now builds, and sells dry-docking solutions throughout the world.
Through the focus on innovation Dockpro has garnered the Mayor’s Innovation Award at the Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards (GCBEA) in June 2021. The GCBEA, now in their 26th year, aim to foster pride in the city's business community and highlight its importance as a business hub. Other awards include categories for emerging, family, manufacturing, retail, IT, tourism businesses, among many others.
In 2019, Dockpro decided to push for an expansion into the USA. In that same year, SeaPen won the prestigious Miami International Boat Show Award for Innovation. Mark Barber said the company, after having dominated the Australia and New Zealand markets, had decided to expand to the USA, which represents 50 percent of the global market. "Our SeaPen product range is ideal for centre-console vessels between 45ft and 55ft in length and this matches a big percentage of the recreational boat market in the United States.''
The innovative dry-docking solution, SeaPen, was developed by Allan Barber. He set up Dockpro in 2004, to sell the SeaPen. The company, managed
Mr Barber said the US growth had initially posed supply issues for the company and it had been looking at establishing a US-based factory. "When
ockpro are dry-docking solution experts. They develop, build and distribute the most innovative systems to protect against barnacle and marine growth on boats.
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we first started recording sales in the US, we could only ship 3-4 units in a shipping container,'' said Mr Barber. "The costs associated with transport meant that unless we could improve the number of units in a container, we would have to set up an assembly plant in the US as well in Australia. So, we “IKEA'ed” our product range. Through a lot of effort and redesign, we are now able to ship up to 19 SeaPen units in a single shipping container. This means, for the time being, we no longer need to open a US-based assembly plant." As well as the Gold Coast and the US market, DockPro also has a network of warehouses and installer teams in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Auckland. www.dockpro.com.au OCT - DEC 2021
