Leadership change at Ardfern yachts
Ardfern Yacht Centre will see some staffing changes this summer.
After 16 years with the business, general manager Mark Cameron will be leaving Ardfern (AYC) at the end of June and will be replaced by managing director Andrew Ashton, who will continue to work closely alongside the existing workshop, boatyard, chandlery and office teams.
‘As a family-owned business now in its 39th year, we remain committed to Ardfern along with the customers and the skilled staff, without whom the business would not operate in the way that it does,’ said AYC director Joanna Ashton.
With the summer sailing season now in full swing, the workshop team, led by Bob Fleck and Fraser McIver, continues to be as busy as ever completing the final stages of some larger jobs, along with boat refurbishments and work on customer special orders.
Meanwhile, the chandlery, managed by Guy Neville, continues to be well stocked.
Additionally, along with the standard annual maintenance programme conducted by North West Marine during the winter and spring months, all of the pontoon decking received a spring clean, while the purchase of a batch of new boat stands in the yard has proved invaluable for boat movements, with the plan being to purchase more of these for this coming winter.
Progress has also now been made with the connectivity issues in the locality and, after a five-month wait, the business was eventually connected to superfast fibre broadband last month. ‘We are currently in the process of upgrading the wifi access points around the pontoon network to ensure customers receive the best connectivity possible,’ said managing director Andrew.
‘But, in the meantime, we are pleased to say that the local telecoms masts have also been upgraded over the winter and there is now a reasonable 4G signal covering the marina for 02, EE and Vodafone.’
The brokerage service run by AYC will, however, cease as from June 30, as Andrew and the team at Ardfern focus on running the marina, boatyard, workshop and chandlery that is the core business, while Mark Cameron will continue to focus on his brokerage work independently under his own name.
‘We will continue to work closely with Mark in the future, in what we are all sure will be an amicable and customer-enhancing experience going forward. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mark for all his hard work and wish him success in his new enterprise.’