Dutch enterprise built an aluminum yacht factory in Bac Ninh

On the afternoon of July 1, at the newly inaugurated factory of Alumax Boats located in Thuan Thanh industrial park, Bac Ninh, workers were welding the hull of a 6-meter-long canoe under the supervision of an engineer from the Netherlands. This factory has just been inaugurated this morning by a joint venture including Alumax Boats, Son Ha Group and shipbuilding enterprise James Boat (Vietnam).

The joint venture representative compares the current process to “playing lego”, assembling cut aluminum pieces according to design drawings. Manufacturing a ship usually involves four stages, including the hull, engine, interior and paint. Among them, painting is the most difficult step. Yachts are luxury goods, requiring a glossy paint layer like a luxury car, instead of just being anti-corrosion like many current Vietnamese ships.

Alumax Boats is a technology enterprise specializing in building aluminum ships and supplying water taxis for the 2012 London Olympics. They first supplied boats to Vietnam in 2021, during the Covid-19 period, in cooperation with James Boat.

In the joint venture, Alumax Boats keeps the core technology of manufacturing high-performance aluminum boats. Son Ha is a strategic shareholder, contributing industrial production capacity, management experience, and financial potential. And James Boat, headquartered in Hanoi, acts as a technology bridge.

Two shipbuilding units participated in the design, and the models were transferred to Son Ha Group’s human resources for production at their workshop. By taking advantage of available technology, factories and human resources, Mr. Nguyen Kim Son, Chairman of the Board of Directors of James Boat, also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alumax Amsterdam, said that their initial investment was only about 2 million USD, mainly for machinery and equipment.

Mr. Remko Hendrik, co-founder and owner of the company, said this is their first factory outside the Netherlands.

Tourist canoes and yachts are the main products of this unit, besides public service and fishing boats. Alumax Amsterdam leaders said they have seen great demand from the catamaran party line, a type of open-space party yacht, accommodating 30-50 people. With party characteristics, this type of yacht is often equipped with a music system, dining area, bar, bedroom, and spacious space for partygoers to watch the sea.

“This is determined to be one of the strategic products to stay ahead of the trend of developing marine tourism in Vietnam and the region,” a company representative said. This year, they will produce three yachts 6.5-16.5 meters long. They currently have orders for public service ships and yachts, with a total value of 20 million USD.

In terms of price, Mr. Kim Son commented that manufacturing in Vietnam will help yachts reduce their selling price by 40% compared to buying from abroad, thanks to a 30% reduction in special consumption tax and 10% import tax.

Besides, aluminum is a lightweight material, helping to save fuel. When the ship has been in use for 40-50 years, at the end of its life cycle, this material has a high recyclability compared to steel and composite materials that are popular in Vietnam.

According to the International Aluminum Institute (IAI), aluminum is one of the most recyclable materials in the world, with a recycling rate of almost 100%. This process is particularly efficient, consuming only 5% of the energy compared to producing new aluminum from bauxite ore. For aluminum cans alone, the actual global recycling rate is about 76%.

However, Mr. Kim Son said that few shipbuilding enterprises in Vietnam apply aluminum ship technology. Because the technology of this material is inherently difficult because aluminum is electrolytically corrosive, meaning it oxidizes quickly when in contact with other metals. Therefore, the aluminum ship market in Vietnam is currently very open for them, in the context that the maritime industry is under pressure to reduce emissions, aiming for the goal of net zero emissions (Net Zero) by 2050.