Marine | Makefast


market, Makefast has always put quality first, and has full material traceability throughout the manufacturing process. It has fully integrated this approach as it continues to build and deliver further marine and architectural equipment solutions.


A bespoke service The Makefast Ltd company ethos


Supplying the International Yacht World


Wales-based Makefast is supplying some of the world’s biggest boatyards and is now eyeing the Brazilian market, says Graham Williams, Director of Sales and Marketing.


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stablished in 1974 in Southampton, Makefast moved to Powys, Wales in the mid-1980s and is


a long-standing member of the British Marine Federation, the trade association for the UK’s marine industry. The company designs standard products for the marine, safety and architectural markets. From a small start, manufacturing buckles for life jackets and stainless steel deck fittings for yachts, the company has grown to a global supplier of complex automatic sunroof mechanisms for the world’s best yacht builders. A typical solution involves UK- based Makefast’s design team working with a boat builder to design a customised system that is integral to the design


of the boat. Ninety-five per cent of components are manufactured to order at the firm’s production facility in Wales, taking advantage of the firm’s extensive array of specialised manufacturing capabilities. Each solution is fully assembled and tested before shipment. Makefast supplies all the leading UK luxury boat builders, and its rapidly expanding global market means it is now supplying many of the world’s biggest boat yards.


Innovation and new technology Since developing its first canvas and


panelled sunroof system, Makefast has constantly innovated and invested in new technologies and materials to design and develop new products. With a background in the safety buckle


196 GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY 2014 | ISSUE 01


has always been one of continuous improvement and constant investment in the latest machinery. This allows the company to be very flexible in the manufacture process and enables a bespoke service. New additions to the manufacturing capacity of two new section rolling machines this year, enabling a new range of stainless steel track systems to be introduced. The stainless steel sunroof and awnings mechanisms are designed and built to withstand the rigours of salt water and the marine environment - making them very suitable for the fitment to prestige architectural applications.


Reaching international markets Makefast had ambitions for its


equipment to be available in as many markets as possible, and by 2012 the company had a network of distributors throughout Europe, as well as a distributor for North America and another for Asia. Alongside the UK, Italy is one of the top boatbuilding markets in the world and Makefast has developed a strong market share there. It noticed that Italian marine companies had begun to look for commercial opportunities in Brazil’s growing marine industry, and having already considered expanding to a BRIC market, the company chose the South American country as its next target. In January 2013, Makefast


participated in UKTI’s Meet the Buyer event at the London Boat Show, where it met with five Brazilian yacht builders that were on an inward mission with UKTI. “Working with UKTI accelerated our Brazilian expansion and we are amazed at how quickly things have taken off there”.


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FURTHER INFORMATION www.makefast.com.


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MARINE


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