Global glazing giant moves into The Boat Works
by The Boat Works 25 Jul 2024 01:18 PDT
TBW Shane Subichin with Tony Scott, Trent Guevara, Darren Dench © The Boat Works
Australia's largest marine glazer is now based at The Boat Works, operating at the top echelons of a niche sector and in demand globally.
Marine Window Services at The Boat Works has created a dedicated quality control centre and training facility in one of the industry's most specialised areas, marine glazing.
Under the direction of Darren Dench, the business employs around 12 staff whose remit incudes consulting with and advising naval architects and boat builders, vessel owners and captains on glazing for vessels, covering design, custom orders, new builds, insurance, repairs, warranty issues and more.
"We are ISO certified and work with four or five glass manufacturers worldwide to meet ISO standards, as well as classifications such as Lloyds, MCA, RINA, ABS, AMSA," Darren explains.
"We co-manufacturer with select factories in Australia, New Zealand and Europe. It's a very specialised area of the marine industry."
The business was established 21 years ago, parlaying techniques and skills from the auto glazing industry into marine. Four years ago, Darren entered the business as a major shareholder alongside two business partners who are specialist craftsmen.
"I started my career commissioning fishing boats, then my path led me to running international food companies in chocolate and coffee," Darren recounts.
"Marine Window Services' management comprises two exceptional tradespeople, complemented by the corporate skills and structure to be globally competitive."
A decade or so ago, windows were functional and perfunctory, designed for light and airflow. Today, glazing is an art and a science.
"Glazing has become aesthetic," states Darren. "The world's leading superyacht designers use glazing as a feature, as part of the hull and superstructure and a point of differentiation. With that added level of sophistication comes the need for them to be structurally sound."
Australia's leading marine glazing specialists, their skills are in demand internationally.
"We work closely with leading naval architects and superyacht shipyards in Europe, marine surveyors and Class certifiers. Our staff are highly trained - we don't use contractors - and we work on every kind of vessel, from superyachts to container ships and tugboats."
They have developed their own training, part of their company Intellectual Property.
"There aren't apprenticeships or courses at this level, so when we couldn't plug into something in Australia, we went overseas and developed our own programs, taking learnings from Benetti, Sanlorenzo and Feadship to develop our own training program," Darren states.
"On our team now, we have one trainee in Year 12, and three Engineering university students on part-time. They bring an intellectual spirit. They're inquisitive, precise and mechanically minded. They question everything."
Previously operating from three locations in Brisbane, Marine Window Services has now centralised its headquarters to The Boat Works, where it tests every piece of glass before installation.
"We required a high-tech quality control facility for testing and training, and The Boat Works offered the ideal, purpose-built premises for us," says Darren.
"The Boat Works is a very clean working environment, highly organised, well structured, and the management team goes over and above," he adds.
The skilled technicians at Marine Window Services recently worked on the 44-metre Sanlorenzo, AIX, at The Boat Works.
"AIX is a large, luxurious, explorer charter yacht with very specific requirements. The project involved the replacement of 16 windows. We are currently doing a complete window removal and replacement aboard the 52.4-metre Baglietto, Mischief. This job is complicated and involves 40+ windows."
Motivated by keeping ahead of the technology and standards in a dynamic industry, Darren says he loves every aspect of the boating industry. "I love being around boats, the design and technology, and what they represent as a vessel for expanding our experiences and making memories. It's a vibrant and changing industry and we're very proud to be part of it. Our focus is increasingly on sustainability and how to lessen our impact on the natural environment, which we think should be a priority of the yachting industry."
Above all, with aesthetics and safety at stake, Darren says their motto is "No corner cutting - ever."
www.theboatworks.com.au/trade-listing/marine-window-services