NorthwestMarch 22, 2013

Port of Clarkston funds project aimed at European market

Regional aluminum boatbuilders will be carrying another marketing tool with them when they head to Norway and Sweden this spring.

A video was unveiled Thursday showing boats made by area manufacturers navigating through white water, jumping sand bars and hauling anglers along waterways.

The video, produced by Jeda Media Productions and paid for by a grant the Port of Clarkston received, is the latest part of a three-year government-subsidized effort to get Europeans to buy boats made in Lewiston, Clarkston and Orofino.

Since the project started, the region has gained 76 jobs in the segment, accounting for $3.3 million in wages, said Doug Mattoon, executive director of economic development organization Valley Vision. Mattoon spoke during the video's premiere at the Clarkston Country Club.

Those positions have been created even though no manufacturer has obtained a CE mark, a certification that is generally required for boats sold in the European Union. The CE mark is similar to the UL symbol in the United States that goes on products with automated moving parts indicating they meet this country's standard for them.

Renaissance Marine in Clarkston is getting close and hopes to have at least one model through the process before this year's European trade expedition, said Bruce Larson, the company's director of administration, marketing and finance.

"The biggest part of it is documentation," he said.

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Renaissance Marine has four models that have gone through almost all the steps for the CE mark including passing inspections. The company is completing technical drawings on the boats and will make a final submission in April or May, Larson said.

The boats are 24- to 26-foot offshore models that will retail in the neighborhood of $150,000 to $160,000 including transport fees and import duties, Larson said. The company has about 60 other models at various stages of the CE mark process.

Renaissance Marine isn't the only company benefiting from the initiative. Clarkston boatbuilder Reconcraft has sold boats for Belize, Peru and Equador using contacts it gained through the program in the U.S. Commercial Service and other organizations that specialize in exports, said Joe Silkowski, an owner of the company.

Reconcraft is a 3-year-old company that specializes in boats for military and government agencies as well as industries like oil and mining, Silkowski said.

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Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.

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