Veda Raubenheimer

Name: Ms Veda Raubenheimer
Organisation: South African Boatbuilders Export Council (SABBEX) and Cape Town Boatbuilding and Technology Initiative (CTBi)
Position: Executive Manager of SABBEX and CEO of CTBi

1. What role do SABBEX and CTBi play in boatbuilding in South Africa?
The South African Boatbuilders Export Council (SABBEX) focuses exclusively on South African boatbuilding companies that are involved in export trade, or those who would like to be. SABBEX is involved in assisting companies to get export-ready, as well as targeting and establishing new markets for exporters. The Cape Town Boatbuilding and Technology Initiative (CTBi) is a provincial special purpose vehicle (SPV) in the Western Cape, established to deal with local issues pertaining to all aspects of the boatbuilding sector, not just export trade.

2. What are the main export markets for South African boat builders?
The traditional export markets for South African boatbuilders are the USA, the Caribbean and Europe. Part of this is a geographical consequence as catamarans, for example, are bound to shallow waters, the likes of which are common in the Caribbean, but not the Mediterranean. New markets currently being explored include India, China, South Korea and Dubai. A lot of research goes into identifying these new markets because in order to make most benefit of the support and incentives from government and industry bodies, there needs to be a large enough demand to ensure economy of scale advantages.

3. How does the size of the local sector compare internationally?
We have seen tremendous growth in production in recent years. South Africa manufactures 28% of the world’s 30 to 40-foot catamarans, numbering approximately 100 vessels each year, as well as 10% of all yachts over 100-foot long. These vessels are manufactured almost exclusively for the export market, while ski-boats and other smaller vessels are produced for the local market.

4. What challenges do local exporters face, and what is being done to overcome them?
The sector is facing all the general economic challenges present at the moment – high interest rates, skills shortages, the effect of the National Credit Act, the fuel price – as well as some sector-specific challenges in terms of the actual manufacture of the boats and the export thereof as well. The biggest problem facing boatbuilders, especially in the Western Cape, is space. There are simply not enough launching and mooring facilities in the region, and unfortunately space is at a premium at the Port of Cape Town. But we are working closely with the Port to identify our options. Another logistical challenge is the distance-to-market for most of our exporters in getting the new vessels to the USA and the Caribbean, especially with fuel prices going the way they are. The exchange rate is often a big concern for exporters, but our exporters import many of the materials used in the production process, so even when the exchange rate is in the exporters’ favour, it’s not necessarily.

5. What is your ideal sunset cruise?
Impossible to settle on just one, I’ll have to give you two alternatives, you know, depending on the weather... I’d say either aboard a Southern Wind 100-footer off the coast of Sardinia in the Mediterranean, or coming into St Barths in the Caribbean, after a fantastic day of sailing, on a new Gunboat 66 catamaran.

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