Riviera awarded large exporter of the year

The Riviera team celebrated being awarded the ‘Best Marine Industry Export Performance – large business category’ which was announced at the 2013 Australian Marine Industry Export Awards held on May 21.

 

Riviera chairman and owner Rodney Longhurst said this was a fantastic achievement and the 300-strong team at Riviera should feel extremely proud of this accomplishment.

 

“Our team is inspired by the future of Riviera as they see our new models coming down the line and this award is testament to the hard work and loyalty of our staff as we work together to create the ultimate boating experience for our owners,” Mr Longhurst said.

 

“Here at Riviera we all share the desire to create and build award-winning luxury boats and I commend the team for achieving this goal.

 

“This award couldn’t have come at a better time for Riviera as we celebrate our second annual Riviera Festival of Boating which featured the world release of the new 565 SUV and the full interior display of the new 50 Enclosed Flybridge ahead of her world debut at the Sydney International Boat Show in August.

 

“I am also proud to announce that the Longhurst family will purchase Riviera’s 14-hectare state-of-the-art Coomera facility on Queensland’s Gold Coast.”

 

It is the largest luxury boat building facility of its type in the Southern Hemisphere and the purchase of the property and all of its capital improvements will be completed before June 30.

 

When Mr Longhurst purchased Riviera on 8 March, 2012, he agreed to a long term lease with the option to buy the property.

 

Over the past 14 months, Mr Longhurst has been focused on Riviera’s future and has placed a great deal of time into restructuring the business, reviewing all internal processes and procedures, investing in new model development, recruiting the right people for the right job, and growing Riviera’s team and talent.

 

After visiting some of the world’s highly regarded boat building facilities, Mr Longhurst is confident the Riviera site compares favourably in terms of location, size and technology.

 

“What we have here gives us enormous potential to further grow and diversify the Riviera brand.  We have the capability to future-proof the company in terms of being able to create and build different types and sizes of boats and that really excites me,” Mr Longhurst said.

 

“Riviera’s Australian headquarters is unique to this part of the world and adds real strength to our brand as Australia is very much a part of the Riviera DNA, and by that I mean that Riviera boats are built for Australia’s harsh boating conditions, and they are built with great strength for whatever the elements try to throw at them.  Our designs also incorporate the great Australian outdoors lifestyle, which means our boats tend to be bigger in internal volume, brighter and more airy and open.”

 

The Club Marine Australian Marine Export and Superyacht Industry Awards are presented annually to reward the outstanding achievements of Australian marine industry exporters and superyacht industry manufacturers and service providers.