Bertram Yachts shelves expansion plans

12:35 AM Wed 8 Apr 2009 GMT

'High end marque, Bertram Yachts is slimming down operations.' . Click Here to view large photo

The manufacturer's expansion plans have fallen victim to the economic downturn. Now Bertram Yachts is shrinking instead of growing.

The company's plans to expand its operation have been shelved. A year ago, Miami-Dade business recruiters announced that Bertram Yachts would expand its Miami River plant and add 150 jobs in the next few years. In exchange, the county and state promised to give the company $1 million in tax refunds and other incentives.

The company would have been eligible for its first refund payment in 2011, but that now seems unlikely.

The deal was negotiated in 2007, before the economy sank into recession. Since then, South Florida's trademark boat industry has been hit particularly hard.
Now, far from expanding, Bertram president Michael W. Myers said the company has been trimming its workforce due to reduced demand for its products. The company now has 200 employees, which Myers estimates is about 40 percent below a year ago.

The company had said it had 419 workers, including on-site contract workers, when the deal was announced, with plans to add another 150 employees. It also planned to spend $9 million on a plant expansion. The company had said the new jobs would pay an average of $36,000 a year plus benefits.

Bertram's sport-fishing yachts sell for $1 million to $5 million, making them high-end even in the yacht business.

The 50-year-old Miami-based firm has developed an international client base and a reputation for vessels that can handle rough seas.

Bertram is owned by the Ferretti Group, an Italian company that also sells boats under Pershing, Ferretti and several other brand names. The parent company is in the midst of restructuring its debt, but is not in bankruptcy, Myers said
Bloomberg Business News reported Friday that the Spanish bank Caja Madrid had turned down a debt restructuring plan for Ferretti. Bloomberg cited the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero as the source of this information.

Between Ferretti's problems, the staff cuts and the slow yacht market, Myers said he has been wrestling with unfounded rumors that the company is going out of business.

'It's certainly a challenging economic environment, but Bertram is alive and well,' he said. 'We continue to complete and deliver boats. We are open and taking new orders as they're made available to us.'

Ferretti acquired a boat dealer, Fort Lauderdale-based Allied Richard Bertram Marine Group, in September.

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Bertram Yachts shelves expansion plans

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