2020 in review: A Belfast shipyard benefitted when pandemic ‘pushed people outdoors’
FILE PHOTO / TED AXELROD
JB Turner, president and general manager of Front Street Shipyard, Belfast
In last year’s Mainebiz “outlook” issue, Front Street Shipyard President JB Turner said the company had big projects underway for 2020, but he saw some warning signs that a decline in the lobster industry could have an impact on business.
Little did he — or anyone else — know what was ahead in 2020.
“We were fortunate that the pandemic pushed people outdoors and boating is certainly a good way to social distance. Many large yachts came to Maine this summer albeit later than normal. July was quiet, but by August the big boats had figured out the various rules and came to Maine. While we had fewer transients because of the quarantine guidelines, we did see a steady stream of work through the summer and well into the fall,” Turner says.
By fall, Front Street Shipyard, which is a prominent feature on the waterfront in Belfast, had to turn away the opportunity to store several boats that normally “winter” in Caribbean waters.
“They were concerned with what the options would be in the islands and did not want to get caught in lock down as many did this spring,” he says.
Front Street also continued to invest in its facilities, including adding a large format, 50-by-15-foot 3D waterjet cutting machine, which will allow it to speed production of boat construction but also diversify into other types of manufacturing. He said hiring continues to be a challenge, even with more people on unemployment roles.
Looking ahead to 2021, “We expect boating to continue to be a popular activity to pursue as it has for the past nine months,” he says. “We saw boat sales go off the charts in 2020 and that trend seems to be continuing into 2021 as people look for both new and used boats at rates not seen in years — all sizes!”
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