Interview: Stabicraft’s Paul Adams

MB: How did Stabicraft pull through last year’s economic downturn?

PA: It was very tough for the marine industry and very hard to work through. I think we accomplished a lot over that time. After seeing the results of last year’s financials, first and foremost, we survived, and secondly there were a number of initiatives that allowed us to lower our cost base and improve efficiency. We ended up with a better than expected bottom line which was a pleasant surprise at the end of the year.

We went through four stages: firstly, we had our head in the sand for a little while, not for very long: Then we thought; “what’s the important thing here?”

We worked on cutting costs and making sales. We looked at what was selling and worked hard to ensure those sales. The third stage was to make strategic sales. Looking at those products and targeting the ones that were selling at the time. It was typically the lower end boats, the bigger boats went cold. We focused on a couple models where we were able to offer better packages overall and I think that helped everybody.

The final step was working with our dealers. We could see things were going to improve and that if we didn’t have some serious forward order forecasting in place, some dealers may miss out. Our dealer network gave us their thoughts and we did some numbers. The team pulled together and we did a really good job. It’s quite good now, we’re heading into the winter, we have an Australian Customs contract and we have some good forward orders.

MB: What about R&D over that time

PA: We developed four new models over that time and revamped three, so we really stayed focused on research and development! In the background we were still working on new models for this year. We actually prepared for growth and planned to ready for the upswing.
I think we did a good job of it.

MB: How is the New Zealand market looking?

PA: The feeling is it’s picking up, although some are doing it tougher than others.
Right now there seems to be more confidence coming back into our Supercab range. One of our dealers did three Stabicraft sales yesterday, and that was a week out from the Auckland boat show... During the Hutchwilco Boat Show we sold 10 boats. We’re quietly confident the market will be better than the second half of last year which seemed to ramp up quick around October and then drop off leading up to Christmas, it was like the bubble burst too early. We’re confident the signs seem to be there and that it will be a good second half.  

MB: What about the Australian market?

PA: We think the 1720 Centre Console you were testing certainly suits that market and there’s another “watch this space” coming up for Melbourne. We think it’s a great opportunity in the Australian market for 20 foot and above. I think those will go extremely well in Melbourne and Tasmania. A market that struggles a little is NSW. Based on the information I hear, NSW has come out of the bad times, it was in the doldrums before anyone else and things now seem to be starting to happen. Overall we need to work closely with our dealers, we have some new marketing initiatives, and we think that we need to target a few new areas with our dealers.

MB: Paul, I understand you’re crediting a new lean manufacture system for much of Stabicraft’s success?

PA: It’s called QCDSM, which stands for: Quality Cost Delivery Safety and Morale. It was devised by Nissan in the 1980s, so it’s perfect for a manufacturing business like ours.  In Stabicraft’s 23 year history we’ve adopted a lot of management systems, I’m sure all manufacturers do, but until now they’d all been flawed because they didn’t allow for continuous improvement, and nor did they allow everyone – and I do mean everyone – to take control of what they do. By involving everyone in reaching quality  and budget targets, QCDSM focuses on solutions and it actually encourages people to be honest about their mistakes, so we can identify weaknesses and hopefully fix them.

MB: How do you get all your staff actively working towards quality and financial goals?

PA: This system is very visual – all of the team get to see and understand it. And all the team are participating so from a morale point of view, it really works. We found that a lot of the information we’re charting now we already captured, but it was in our computer system where not everyone got to see it and it was often overlooked. You don’t need the fancy computer gear, you just need really good visual systems that are able to clearly see and understand what is happening. Something else that QCDSM has given us it the ability to capture good ideas, in a way that they are acted upon. Unlike in the past when someone would say “‘I have a good idea” and I would say, “yeah that’s a good idea”, but often nothing happened.

MB: Can you tell us about your plans to create an on-site marine hub?

PA: Our factory is on a 10 acre site on the outskirts of Invercargill that our landlord has earmarked for development, and we’ve suggested a marine hub is the way to go. Although Invercargill is a relatively small city, the more components and processing we can do on this site, the more we’ll save in terms of transport and time, and since we’re the largest clients of many of our key sub-contractors it’s sensible for them to be close to us. Of course we’re only five minutes from Invercargill’s CBD so they would still be handy to their other business.  

MB: Thanks for your time, Paul

PA: Thanks