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Perfect Pedigree
Michael Verdon
02/02/2004
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Despite the pedigree and workforce, Ross had his challenges. "I want to elevate the brand’s reputation, while modernizing the fleet," he says. "You can’t build your father’s Burger forever."
A decade after taking over, most industry analysts agree that Ross is well on his way to accomplishing his mission. The yard has launched 20 new yachts and its workforce has grown to 230. Ross also recently announced a $5-million expansion. "We’re adding 42,000 square feet of production space, which will allow us to move into yachts up to 165 feet," says Ross. "We will not abandon the 100-foot range that we’re synonymous with, but we feel it’s a natural move into a segment where the Europeans have dominated."
Last summer, Burger launched its largest yacht ever, the 126-foot Sis W, built for drugstore magnate Charles R. Walgreen, 97 and wheelchair-bound. Walgreen has said that he will spend his remaining years on the yacht. "This was his fourth Burger," says Ross. "He was involved in every stage of the design."
Ross said it took 15 craftsmen just over a year to finish the exterior of the aluminum hull, and more than 30,000 man-hours to complete Sis W. "Our project manager went around in a wheelchair to make sure every corner was accessible," says Ross. It’s that kind of attention to detail, he says, that builds a yacht’s pedigree.
The Long View
William Smith of Trinity Yachts saw the potential at the upper end of the yacht market, more than 150 feet, in the late 1980s. Trinity had been building commercial and military vessels, many longer than 300 feet, from its Higgins shipyard in New Orleans for decades. "We felt that we could make a horizontal transfer of technology from our military ships to the yachts," says Smith. But even Smith admits that it took the company 10 years to become an "overnight" success.
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