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A boat builder in the City of Americus is now in the Export business. After three years of talks, The Republic of Korea has a Joint Venture to produce Clearwater Sportfishing boats in their country. This process was started by then 18-year old, Bailey Roberson, at a Northeastern boat show. During this lengthy process, various models and features of boats were discussed by Chad Roberson and Mr. Jung Kim for shipment to South Korea. During Saturday’s visit, Mr. Kim was accompanied by his assistant, Sig Hong, and he was very impressed with the capabilities of the H2O facility. In a statement by Mr. Kim “The people of our country desire to have ownership and the financial infrastructure to own a vessel like a Clearwater boat.” For the past year, Mr. Kim has been building a new state of the art facility to receive and assemble parts imported from Americus, GA. The first set of containers is to head to port in June of this year.

“For Americus, H2O Sports and the Clearwater brand, the diversity of markets is great,” states Chad Roberson, “Being able to participate in our thriving economy and now an emerging Pacific Rim market, this will only strengthen our position in the world marketplace.”

Present at Saturday’s meeting was Rusty Warner, Executive Director of the Sumter County Development Authority. In a statement by Mr. Warner, “I am happy to see H2O is expanding their reach in the boating business both here and in South Korea. I am sure, in time, their appetite for success and great craftsmanship will catapult them into even more opportunities.”

Dale Richard will be the Team Leader of this project as the new Clearwater is developed with South Korean Team Leader Mr. Hong. The long term goal is to continually develop Avant-Garde products that are accepted by both US and South Korean consumers. Dale Richard and other personnel from the H2O facility will be spending much of their 2020 summer teaching personnel in South Korea on how to build a boat to the standards of the United States Coast Guard.

“Over the past 18 months, we have focused on vertical integration for Clearwater Boats. This includes bringing all metal works in-house, which would include T-tops, fuel tanks, rails, and trailers. This has allowed us to be extremely competitive and the investment has paid off,” states metals manager Chris Brunson. Brunson went further to state that his local education at South Georgia Technical College prepared him for the challenges he faces in this international setting.

 

All parts for the South Korean boats will be manufactured, bought, kitted, and shipped from Americus, Georgia, to South Korea for assembly. Additionally, the shipping port of Savannah, GA, will benefit from an estimated 23 containers in year one.  The growth opportunities are wide-open as another Americus company becomes “Home Grown and World Renown!”