BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Dockpro are dry-docking solution experts. They develop, build and distribute the most innovative systems to protect against barnacle and marine growth on boats.
Through the focus on innovation Dockpro has garnered the Mayor’s Innovation Award at the Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards (GCBEA) in June 2021. The GCBEA, now in their 26th year, aim to foster pride in the city’s business community and highlight its importance as a business hub. Other awards include categories for emerging, family, manufacturing, retail, IT, tourism businesses, among many others.
The innovative dry-docking solution, SeaPen, was developed by Allan Barber. He set up Dockpro in 2004, to sell the SeaPen. The company, managed by Allan’s son, Mark Barber, now builds, and sells dry-docking solutions throughout the world.
In 2019, Dockpro decided to push for an expansion into the USA. In that same year, SeaPen won the prestigious Miami International Boat Show Award for Innovation. Mark Barber said the company, after having dominated the Australia and New Zealand markets, had decided to expand to the USA, which represents 50 percent of the global market. “Our SeaPen product range is ideal for centre-console vessels between 45ft and 55ft in length and this matches a big percentage of the recreational boat market in the United States.”
Mr Barber said the US growth had initially posed supply issues for the company and it had been looking at establishing a US-based factory. “When we first started recording sales in the US, we could only ship 3-4 units in a shipping container,” said Mr Barber. “The costs associated with transport meant that unless we could improve the number of units in a container, we would have to set up an assembly plant in the US as well in Australia. So, we “IKEA’ed” our product range. Through a lot of effort and redesign, we are now able to ship up to 19 SeaPen units in a single shipping container. This means, for the time being, we no longer need to open a US-based assembly plant.”
As well as the Gold Coast and the US market, DockPro also has a network of warehouses and installer teams in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Auckland.
www.dockpro.com.au
Published in print October-December 2021
