Trend Marine Products, part of the US giant Taylor Made Group has been steadily growing their business for over 37 years, keeping ahead with glazing solutions for yachts across the globe. The impressive 12 acre site in Norfolk, UK, now produces full boat-sets for yachts from medium sized sports boats to the largest sail and power superyachts. During 2010 a significant investment in new sag-bending furnace and toughening plant will enable Trend to manufacture super-large glazing for the world’s largest superyachts.
A factory tour is full of surprises because the huge glazing production machinery is just a small part of the story. Complete ready-to-fit sub-assemblies are constructed here in stainless steel and exotic composites, complete with power control systems and hydraulics. Lean manufacturing is the new way and the customers own JIT requirements have created delivery systems where complete boat sets for all windows, doors, hatches, port lights and windscreens are delivered alongside the new-build yacht for the completion process.
Glazing Mahinery Processing
With yacht sizes always on the increase, larger glass units were inevitable but alongside this, yacht designers and more importantly the new customers are looking for a yacht where the interior spaces connect to the sea and the environment through larger window areas. The era of the see-through yacht is here! Excellent news for Trend.
Trend has built its business by working with yacht builders on a technical and engineering solutions level, becoming strategic partners with some of the biggest names in the industry. This will continue and grow. With larger glazing products reaching into the heart of the superyacht market it needed a strategic marketing plan to educate a wider audience both in Europe and the USA, plus all emerging markets. Enter the skills of Owen Marine Marketing who has been specialising in the superyacht marketing arena worldwide for 30 years.
The strategy is to reach out to the whole superyacht market place and all the key influencers to establish the Trend brand and proposition.
The most effective and cost efficient methods will be used to achieve this. The first task for Owens is to supply an effective portal to capture and process prospecting and sales enquiries by building a modern website. For Trend it has to be a W3C compliant, SEO website with full CMS plus all the other features to engage the visitor and clearly disseminate information. To add to the effectiveness of the web presence there will be an embedded ‘micro’ website with a separate url for the superyacht sector.
Owenwebmail will be used to run the prospecting engine, like this first press release. The whole marketing programme will use new-media to launch the campaign, followed by a hands-on sales effort supported by traditional methods such as a presence at the 2010 Monaco Yacht Show, collateral materials and some support advertising, on and off the page.
Marine Glazing
Roy Roberts, Owen MD comments ”When I looked around the Trend facility in June this year I casually commented that it was the yachting industry’s ‘best kept secret’, not any more!. By the time the superyacht world has beaten a path to the Monaco the secret will be well and truly out”
