Busy order book is good news for Cornish yard
CORNISH superyacht firm Pendennis Shipyard has seen a positive start to 2021, with three new contracts in the pipeline.
The contracts are due to start this spring and are seen as a welcome boost to the company that currently employs just over 400 specialist tradespeople and support staff at its Falmouth location.
Like many UK businesses, trading conditions since the onset of the Covid19 pandemic in early 2020 have been anything but smooth sailing, the firm said. With major internal operational changes being required to the running and set-up of projects at the yard, as well as restrictions on movement and disruption to the international supply chain, all this has added pressure to the smooth running of the business.
The securing of new contracts will provide more certainty for the 2021 order book but will also result in the company recruiting an additional 30 to 40 highly skilled personal.
The company is specifically looking for fabricators, plumbers, engineers, outfitters, joiners and draughts people. In addition, it wants recent school leavers, aged 16 to 19, to apply to join its apprenticeship scheme.
Toby Allies, joint managing director at Pendennis Shipyard, said: “To be able to announce this positive news so early into 2021 is welcome news for the whole team at Pendennis.
“We pride ourselves on being a wellrun international business, who has a highly skilled and trained workforce.
“The past 12 months have been challenging, but we are weathering the storm and starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Cherilyn Mackrory, MP for Truro and Falmouth, said: “I’m delighted to see that Pendennis Shipyard, a local business with an excellent international reputation, has new business in the pipeline, particularly during what has been a difficult time for our economy, and is looking to recruit from the local community.
“I wish them well with their recruitment,” the Conservative MP added. “New jobs for local people in a growing industry can only be a good thing for Falmouth and the surrounding area.”
Pendennis Shipyard is a custom superyacht build and refit shipyard and has become one of Cornwall’s most important employers, with more than 400 workers at the 14-acre waterfront location in Falmouth.
The yard’s facilities include three bespoke-built construction halls, alongside a 150 metre dry-dock, with the capacity for new-build and refit contracts for 30m to 100m superyachts.
The 800-tonne travel hoist enables efficient launching into the 7,564sq m non-tidal wet basin which is purposebuilt to accommodate superyachts of up to 100m.
In 2018, Pendennis secured a majority share hold in Vilanova Grand Marina, in Barcelona, a 48-berth facility with adjacent land available for further development.
The investment in Vilanova is crucial to the firm’s global client base. The first phase of development work has recently been completed on adjacent land, turning it into a superyacht technical service centre that trades under the brand Pendennis Vilanova. Facilities now include 12,000sq m of hard standing and a 620-tonne travel hoist with supporting piers.