Australia’s luxury motor yacht builder Riviera has officially opened the latest stage of the company’s $10 million-plus expansion program, bringing online a new high-tech Lamination Centre to enhance efficiencies on site.
The Lamination Centre is the largest and most advanced building within the company’s Gold Coast boatbuilding facility, affirming Riviera’s dedication to high-quality Australian manufacturing.
The centre allows Riviera to further the delivery of advanced boatbuilding technology employed by Riviera’s 950-strong team.
PLACEHOLDER IMAGE
The development represents a significant investment in the local manufacturing sector, paving the way for Riviera to meet international demand for its luxury motor yachts. Riviera, which over the past 42 years has built more than 5,850 motor yachts, now exports over half of its annual production around the world.
The new Lamination Centre has expanded Riviera’s existing boatbuilding work area by more than 3400 square metres and heralds a new era for the company’s 16.8ha state-of-the-art facility, the biggest and most advanced of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
The expansion represents the largest single capital investment by Riviera to increase its boatbuilding capacity since the company established its presence within the Gold Coast Marine Precinct 22 years ago.
Riviera is laying the foundation for future growth to continue creating luxury motor yachts for the boating enjoyment of our owners around the world.
- Rodney Longhurst
The facility brings on line nine new lamination bays where the Riviera team creates the hulls and decks of the company’s internationally respected luxury motor yachts. It also delivers a new dedicated resin-infusion area where the Riviera team employs the latest technology to produce high quality composites for the building of decks, hardtops and boarding platforms.
The Lamination Centre includes two spray-painting booths, a fiberglass cutting bay and three large 10-tonne gantry cranes to manoeuvre completed yacht components. Additional office space and staff amenities have been included in the new facility.
The Lamination Centre provides a temperature-controlled environment to enhance the lamination process, while also adding to the personal comfort of staff. Through an integrated ventilation system, Riviera’s team can deploy gas heaters during winter and evaporative coolers in the warmer months to ensure the resin curing process is optimised throughout the year.
The building features a sophisticated air-extraction system and a compressed air and vacuum system throughout the work areas, as well as designated resin stores.
The new Lamination Centre significantly enhances Riviera’s capacity to apply new technology in building its growing range of 23 luxury motor yachts from 39 to 78 feet.
It is part of a significant investment by the company to support its Australian boatbuilding operations and follows the recent expansion of the final fitout building; the deployment of new computer-aided design equipment; the upgrading of its robotic varnishing capabilities; and the commissioning of the state-of-the-art 100-tonne-capacity Marine Travelift TM100 motor yacht transporter on site to deliver further efficiencies for the Riviera team.
“Our new Lamination Centre represents a major investment in our world-class boatbuilding facility designed to extend capacity and improve workflows across our site,” said Riviera owner Rodney Longhurst.
PLACE HOLDER IMAGE
“The new centre allows our team to gain significant efficiencies with our lamination activities where we create the hulls and other major components of our luxury motor yachts.
“The scope of this work will also ensure we are able to meet demand and provide additional capacity to extend further.”
Riviera continues to enjoy strong demand for its range of luxury motor yachts across the Motor Yacht, Sports Motor Yacht, Sport Yacht, SUV, Flybridge and Belize collections.
The expansion of the Gold Coast boatbuilding facility follows the world premiere in March of Riviera’s new flagship, the 78 Motor Yacht. It also comes as the Riviera team has grown to more than 950 on site.
PLACE HOLDER IMAGE
“As a proud Australian company, building luxury motor yachts that compellingly compete among the best in the world, this significant investment enhances the specialist skills that our industry needs while also supporting our local economy,” said Mr Longhurst.
“This is an important next step for our team as Riviera is laying the foundation for future growth to continue creating luxury motor yachts for the enjoyment of our owners around the world.”
