German company confirms positions will be available for British workers, adding that target is 100 boats a year
Sealine’s new German owners have confirmed to MBY they will be recruiting from the company’s former Kidderminster workforce and will maintain the existing Sealine dealer network.
Hanse Group, which bought the rights to the Sealine name and a number of the yard’s models out of administration, said positions would be available for British workers, with numbers to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
This news will offer some measure of relief to the skilled Sealine workforce, which numbered around 300 when administrators took over the company in April this year.
Sealine’s UK agents also met with Hanse earlier this month and were reassured that they would remain dealers for the brand.
Sealine South Coast, which was wrapped up in the parent company’s administration, is obviously not included, nor is Sealine’s former US outpost, Sealine Yachts America.
Production of the models bought by Hanse – the S380 (formerly the SC35), S450 (formerly the SC42) and F450 (formerly the F42) – will begin shortly at Hanse’s yard in Greifswald, north-eastern Germany, with the first German-built Sealine expected in two months.
MBY is still seeking confirmation from administrators Baker Tilly about what is happening to the remainder of the Sealine model line-up – the C48, F48, T50 and T60.
Hanse’s head of sales, Maxim Neumann, told MBY the company planned to build around 100 Sealines in the first year, with Germany, the Med, China and Scandinavia targeted as prime markets for the new boats.
Larger and smaller models are also in the design pipeline, Neumann said, although he wouldn’t comment on specific sizes.
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