West Ribs of Fremantle sign distrubution agreement with

AB Inflatables in Colombia

Carl Hewer (left) General Manager of West Ribs of Fremantle, West Australia shakes hands with AB Inflatables president Ivor Heyer at “AB inflatables” factory located in Barranquilla, Colombia, South America after signing distribution agreement for Australia.

AB Inflatables has been manufacturing high-quality inflatables, from tenders to coastal cruisers, since 1968. It builds 35 different models of boats ranging in size from 8 to 28 feet. The entire manufacturing process, from the building of fiberglass and aluminum hulls, to the fabrication of the tubes, is done under one roof.

The inflatable tubes are manufactured from the very best “Orca” hypalon fabric and use Italian made rub-rails and handles specially manufactured for AB.

The factory was relocated from Venezuela to Colombia late in 2007. Mr. Heyer explained that he took the decision to move the factory as a result of the political situation which made it difficult to carry out manufacturing efficiently. Whereas Colombia offered low labour rates, a skilled work-force and political stability.

The factory location was chosen very carefully. Located within Barranquilla free port zone, the factory boasts 10,000 sq metres of floor-space and was designed with great attention to detail. As Heyer said “when you build a second home, you correct the mistakes of the first one. So it is with the new factory. We have changed the way we set up production to make it more efficient and therefore build boats quicker”.

Mr. Hewer viewed this for himself during his 3 days in Colombia. The production line flows naturally from the moulds at one end of the fibreglass shop to a complete and detailed hull at the opposite end of the shop.

Whilst the inflatable tubes are being manufactured on the floor below in one section,

then married up to the hulls in the next section.

Before moving on to dispatch, which is naturally right next door! In the dispatch department they carry out final inspection, fully clean the boat, then carefully wrap and package it ready for loading into the shipping container.

In another part of the factory, GRP hull boats larger than 15’ in length are manufactured, allowing more space and time to manufacture these on one side of this building. Separated by specially tinted welding curtains is the aluminium fabrication section where alloy hulls are manufactured by computer cutting alloy plates to an accuracy of 0.01mm. The hulls are fabricated and welded in this area too before going to powder coating and then transferring to the tube shop for tube attachment.

AB’s investment extends to all facets of the plant, including reverse cycle air-conditioning for major areas of the factory to maintain the correct temperature and humidity. The plant has many automated resin mixing and spray application machines, a CNC cutting machine, latest welding equipment, automated fabric cutting and buffing machines and the largest Ingersoll Rand air compressor and dryer ever likely to be seen in a boat factory.

All equipment is brand new and the best quality backed up by an impressive array of new spare parts all laid out neatly in a separate store room, ready for use when required for maintenance or breakdowns. As Heyer said “I don’t want the production line to stop for the sake of a spare part that may not be in the country, so I keep all the spares on the shelf here to minimise the potential delays in the production line”.

Heyer’s attention to detail stood out during the factory visit. Every worker at AB, of which there are now 180 producing 3000 boats per year, has their own tools and neat blue toolboxes mounted on posts throughout the factory. Every worker proudly wears their AB uniform and every section cleans their area immediately after completing a process and before starting the next (some sections were seen to clean up 8 times a day!).

Heyer demands utmost quality and attention to detail, as can be seen in the team leaders regular quality and production meetings, which certainly shines through into the finished boats.

Mr. Hewer reported that in 2 days he noted 4 x 40’ sea containers being loaded and dispatched with military precision, with an average of 2 hours to load each container. The containers do not leave the free-trade zone, they are collected and driven only 2 klms where they are normally loaded onboard a ship within 2 days of collection from the factory. AB even has an agreement with Colombia customs who come to the factory to inspect the loading and issue clearance papers on the spot. After being patted down and having all my luggage gone through at Barranquilla, I can say the customs leave no stone un-turned in their efforts to prevent drugs from entering or leaving Colombia and they do that to every person upon leaving.

Not only has Ivor Heyer built a production plant to rival any inflatable boat builder in the world, he also has the ability to listen to his distributors in the never ending search for improvement in his boats. This was evident during Carl & Ivor’s discussions. Carl explained that the Australian market has subtle differences in taste and deck layout compared to other markets. Carl himself has over 20 years experience in RIB design, manufacture and distribution. After talking with Ivor regarding some proposed changes, unknowingly to Carl, Ivor spoke to his staff and within 6 hours Carls orders in production were modified to comply with agreed changes. There are not too many boat builders left that will go to this degree of effort in order to react to the market and client expectations so quickly!

West Ribs General Manager Carl Hewer concluded “We are proud to be representing AB’s range of rigid inflatable boats (R.I.B.’s) here in Australia. The R.I.B. market in Australia is growing, as are the number of importers trying to sell them. West Ribs however have the expertise to do their own fit-out of the boats including in-house fitting of the engines and full service and repair facilities. Indeed, we even carry out warranty repairs for other importers and have been repairing Navy RIBs for the last 5 years.

West Ribs is part of the DSBC group of companies, which amongst other things imports Majesty yachts and Siver Craft from Gulfcraft in Dubai.

West Ribs are actively seeking dealers and can be contacted on (08) 9336 4418