Its about time that nautique built a new factory, it was embarassing to see the old factory and think that was were your $55,000 boat was built.

Why was/is that embarrassing? They still did the job right.

Common misconception that all of these high-end manufactured products come out of the pristine manufacturing environments shown in the brochures. I used to do manufacturing consulting and worked at a ton of different facilities....some of the highest end products come out of the nastiest mfg. environments. Most people would probably be surprised. <BR> <BR>The factory was as I expected, especially when dealing with fiberglass, resins, etc and given the age of the company. Granted, a new building would look prettier.

I run a large business and was extremelyimpressed with Nautiques old facility. Not pretty but extremely systematic and orderly.

To back up Rob. I had heard the same thing. The orignal nautique factory was a joke. Dirt floors in some aera's. It dosent change my opinion of their boats. As long as my'n is solid I dont care if they built in in Bubbas back yard, LOL

ya, they did a great job, but with a really nice factory, such as master craft, you can us that as your advantage to sell boats and market your boats. nautique has never been good at marketing, they have always used the quality of their boats to market themselves, but now i think that they will be able to market with a quality factory and quality boats <BR> <BR>I just think that they were way overdue on a new factory

I'm Donald Trump, and like they say about the value of Real Estate: <BR>Location, location, location - the same is true for a business.

I was involved with relocating an entire manufacturing facility from a not so nice one to a brand new one. We also had the dirt floor syndrome and other things like that, but what you have to remember is that it's all about the end product. New facilities are a HUGE investment and take time and careful consideration. No matter how you budget it, it always costs more. I am sure nobody would like to see Nautique cut any corners on their products for the sake of paying for a new facility, nor would they like to see them get in any financial trouble over the new place either. <BR> <BR>When we moved, we were able to start fresh in a few areas. I was not able to take a vacation for almost a year when we started up due to having to be there to make sure that all our new machinery and techniques were up and running. We now make a better product, so it was well worth it. <BR> <BR>Funny, I also saw a boat maker in New England who made all his molds and did all his building in his back yard. Bubba made some nice boats. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/lol.gif" border=0>

Should the manufacturing costs of Nautiques go down now? My dealer told me one of the big reasons Malibus are less than Nautiques and Mastercraft is because their manufacturing process they had in place allowed for cheaper building of the boats. He was a Malibu and Nautique dealer, so no reason for bias there.

I think Nautiques cost enough as it is. If they moved to a new location, wouldn't that drive the prices even higher?

Good question, Mr. Wilson. <BR> <BR>As you know, I'm Donald Trump. The margins will surely shrink in the short term for Correct Craft should they decide to construct or buy a new facility. <BR>However, an increase in prices is unlikey even if they did decide to do this. The forces of supply and demand dictate the pricing of products. <BR> <BR>You're fired. <BR> <BR>Mr. Sloshake, your dealer may have been being candid with you but I would not read a book by it's cover. As long as Correct Craft has the dealer believing that their manufacturing costs are higher, they can in turn charge more for the product and said dealer will bend over and take it. <BR> <BR>You're fired. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/lol.gif" border=0>

Mr. Trump, <BR> <BR>Lets say CC sells the building they've owned for X amount of years. They buy a new building and the mortgage on that building is Y amount of dollars. CC would have to add Y to their current manufacturing costs. <BR> <BR>According to what you’re saying that CC would eat the amount of Y, and decrease their profit? <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/uhoh.gif" border=0> <BR> <BR>I don't think that would happen; I definitely think the price would go up. Not by a whole lot where they would price themselves out of the market, because the amount of Y would be divided into the numbers of boats they sell a year. <BR> <BR> <BR>(Message edited by wakestar8878 on October 19, 2004) <BR> <BR>(Message edited by wakestar8878 on October 19, 2004)

You forget one factor...production output...more boats...smaller margins...equals possible less expensive boat...same profit!!! <BR> <BR>Your Both Fired

Keep in mind that the usual reason for moving to a new facility is to gain economies with more efficient layout and processes that will allow the company to produce the same product for less money. Not only that, but assuming the new factory will allow for increased production, fixed costs (such as the new factory) will now be spread over more units, again lowering the cost to produce each boat. <BR> <BR>Sure, the cost of a new facility will probably be more than what they're paying for their old one, but since this gets spread out over 30 years or so, the extra cost will usually be negligible compared to the savings gained with a more efficient factory. <BR> <BR>I don't know anything first hand about this particular factory, but I don't think any smart business makes a move that will increase the cost to produce their product. That's a tough one to sell to the budget committee. <BR> <BR>You're all fired!! <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>

You forget one Factor....More Production....More employees, plus more mortgage = more expensive boat and less profit. <BR> <BR>YOUR FIRED!

lol...Dave <BR> <BR>Good points all of you. <BR> <BR>If you can't already tell, I just like to argue, even if I'm wrong.<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/rofl.gif" border=0> <BR> <BR>(Message edited by wakestar8878 on October 19, 2004)

AHA! Dave fired all of you guys. Ya'll suck, we rule. <BR> <BR>Do you think that this will affect the bottom line? Will their prices remain constant? <BR> <BR>I LET you win this weekend Dave.

..."gain economies with more efficient layout and processes that will allow the company to produce the same product for less money" - holy crap, someone has been doing their homework. You're hired! <BR> <BR>Thanks for playing fellas!

Since when do prices stay the same year to year anyway? It's sort of a non-issue don't you think? It's not like they are going to offer a similar boat for 15-25% more. My guess would be you'll see them take advantage of economies of scale. Building more boats means more materials purchased at lower overall costs. I would bet cost per unit goes down if not at least stays the same even with a state of the art new facility. <BR> <BR>Eric

2% increase

Eh, who are we kidding...they'll probably pay cash for the new facility. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/crazy.gif" border=0> Great idea adding a lake for tournaments.

their prices would never be equivalent to the other two. their charity contributions are baked into the cost of their boats.

"EVERYONE IS FIRED" LOL <BR> <BR>All this talk of lowering prices is unreal IMO. Everything that seems to be related with doing business from the phone bill to health care goes up in cost. Everythng that comes threw my business seems to go up each year C.O.L.A. We have to charge more for our product/service just to stay ahead. <BR> <BR>Example" <BR>Remember when the recording industry told us all CD's would be cheeper than tapes because it was cheeper to make them Bla Bla Bla. <BR>Even if someone from nautique said they were building the factory to make the boats cheeper I wouldnt believe it. Nautique and any other business is in business to make money #1 and build quailty boats #2. Without #1 there can be no #2 Just my 2-cent's