InterTradeIreland 

RedBay, who are based in Cushendall, design, manufacture and sell Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs), which are used by leisure and commercial customers.  Around 70% of the company’s business is carried out in the UK and Ireland, with 30% coming from the rest of Europe - in particular Norway, Sweden, France and Denmark. 

Tom McLaughlin, managing director of RedBay, explained:  “We have seen real results since our participation in the FUSION programme.  We have a recognised quality management system, ISO 9000, in place and we have new boats on the market.

“We have also increased production and sales of our RIBs from around 30 per annum to 45 in three years.

“Our goal for 2009 is to focus on our export markets and to set up a distribution channel throughout GB that will market and sell our fast-flow production boats - the new 650 and 750 series - which have been designed and manufactured from scratch, here in Cushendall. 

“One of these boats, the Stormforce 11 Flybridge, was designed in-house with the assistance of our FUSION graduate, Stephen Gordon.”

InterTradeIreland’s FUSION programme is a network which partners industry and academia with a highly-qualified graduate to enable knowledge and technology transfer across the island.

It supports business innovation and increased capability by offering eligible companies funding to take on a graduate to work on a specific project, and then linking the organisation with a suitable academic institution that will also lend expertise. 

Mr McLaughlin, explaining how the FUSION programme had driven his business, said:  “We took part in the FUSION programme in 2005 and embarked on a 12 month project to implement a quality management system and produce new vessel designs.

“We were partnered with Stephen Gordon who was a Meng. Graduate in Small Craft Technology from Newcastle University and he has been instrumental in our success.  His efforts, teamed with the learning we gleaned from Letterkenny Institute, have been invaluable.  

“With ISO 9000 in place, we were able to start tendering for government contracts, which was previously a closed market for us.  We now have a solid footing in this arena, having won contracts to supply boats to the DOE and various other government departments.” 

The new quality management system has meant that processes are running more smoothly across the company, which has led to costs being cut.  In contrast, customer satisfaction is at a high - feedback has been very positive and customers are commenting on the improved quality of the boats.  

Mr McLaughlin continued:  “We are the leading manufacturer of RIBs with cabins within the UK market.  Business was going well before we took part in FUSION, but now we are working to capacity, having been able to simplify processes and take on more work due to our improved processes.

“The programme enabled us to focus on ISO 9000, with set targets and milestones to be achieved.  We would never have been able to commit the time or resources to drive this to completion on our own.

“Stephen’s design, which we are now producing to order, has also been a real success for us.  It is an 11m vessel targeted at leisure customers, who make up 50% of our purchasers.  He also produced conceptual designs for several other boats, including a 15m vessel that would be capable of carrying up to 30 people.” 

Stephen has since left the company to become a full-time naval architect with Harland & Wolff in Belfast.  His 15m vessel design has yet to be manufactured, but the company have plans to expand over the next two years into a purpose-built facility, which would provide the necessary space to produce such a vessel. 

RedBay Boats Ltd have been designing, manufacturing and selling Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) in Cushendall since 1977.  These boats are widely used inshore and offshore for pleasure craft, commercial passenger operations and various search and rescue applications.  The company also supplies a range of crafts between six to 15 metres.