SHIPBUILDING supply company Ayres Composite Panels has expanded its operations into the US, signing a distribution agreement with Missouri-based company Mark A Robicheaux Inc.
That deal allows Ayres to not only supply the Austal USA joint venture and the Incat-Bollinger joint venture, but also small US shipbuilders that had been wary of buying the company’s products.
Until the Robicheaux deal, only large companies that could afford to buy large shipments of the Ayres panels were prepared to place orders with the Bayswater company.
Small companies were wary because if they found themselves short on an order, they would have to pay expensive airfreight rates to bring the product in.
With the distributorship in place, Ayres will have an inventory in the US that shipbuilders there will be able to draw down on.
The Robicheaux deal has also cleared the way for Ayres to set up a manufacturing facility in the US next year.
Of course, any manufacturing deal with the US from Australia faces some hurdles.
While the Jones Act, a piece of legislation that decrees that all ships operating in US waters must be built in the US, does not affect Ayres, there are other rules pertaining to US Government funding that do.
Ayres director Graham Cameron said if the construction of a vessel involved US Government funding then the bulk of the equipment on that vessel had to come from US sources.
Those restrictions have not stopped Ayres from supplying its panels to the Derecktor vessels – the largest boats ever built in the US.
Ironically, Ayres was also the first panel maker to become compliant with US Coast Guard regulations in the US.
Since Ayres was named WA Small Business of the Year in 2001, the company has been expanding its operations into Europe and, over the past 18 months, the US.
The company makes lightweight, fire-resistant decorative panels for the shipbuilding industry.
Due to their light weight, these panels have helped companies such as Austal to embark on building larger vessels.
The business was set up about eight years ago, largely on the back of the success of companies such as Austal.
Ayres managing director Colin Ayres said the company had grown its sales three-fold since it won the small business award in 2001.
He said the company had sought to cultivate new customers after its main market – Austal and Incat – found themselves becalmed.
One third of the company’s products are exported directly.
Part of the company’s success has come from its constant reinvention of its products.
This has resulted in Ayres creating an ultra light panelling for car bays in ferries that could save about 20 tonnes in a 100 metre vessel.
The company was also part of the UWA Motorsport team’s win in the world Formula SAE championships.
The University of WA team won the international design prize for its Formula SAE car.
The car’s superstructure relied on Ayres’ composite panels.
The company also sponsored the team from the University of New South Wales.
