Made-in-Taiwan luxury yachts moving up in the world market

This article was produced and published by the Taiwan Journal on February 10, 2006. It reports that luxury yachts made in Taiwan are increasingly carving out a space in the world market.

According to the Global Build Report published by Yachts International Magazine in October 2005, as of July 1, 2005, Taiwanese companies had 49 large-sized yachts (80 feet long or more) on order, with a combined footage of 4,494 feet. This puts Taiwan in the fourth place worldwide, up one place from the previous year. Italy was in the first place, boasting 306 yachts on order with a combined 33,611 footage. The United States and the Netherlands were in the second and third places, with orders for 11,117 feet and 7,374 feet, respectively.

Other statistics show that during the first half of 2005, Taiwan received orders for 96 yachts longer than 60 feet, worth nearly US$87 million, for an average value of US$907,000.

This article asks why Taiwan, which has no special-use ports or trial-run areas for yachts, has excellent yacht-building technology and has achieved a sizeable market share in the world industry. The answer, according to this article, is that Taiwan has one of the best levels of carpentry craftsmanship in the world. Southern Taiwan is also a center for ship propeller manufacturing.

The article also predicts that although Taiwan's ship-building industry will continue to develop in the fields of yacht-building and military ship-building, more Taiwanese companies will enter into yacht-building because of its higher profit margings.

This article details how Taiwanese yacht-builders have been coming up with distinctive designs that generate orders and attract investment. These companies are also sponsoring major international yacht and boat races, and have recruited many yacht engineers from Europe and the United States. Several Taiwanese yacht-building companies and their achievements in recent years are highlighted.

The first Taiwan International Boat and Watersports Show was held in Taipei from December 15 to 18 in 2005, with 266 pavilions manned by 86 exhibitors, including 44 foreign and 42 domestic yacht-builders and parts makers.

Here is an interesting article to read:

• Taiwan International Boat and Watersports Show & the Nautica Sino Symposium (December 2005)