Partner Article

Boat builder uses initiative to ride sea change

A North East boat builder is using a national Design Council initiative to help his business sail forward and meet the needs of a changing market. John Flynn has worked in the boat building industry for over 19 years, overseeing the construction of over 500 narrow boats, designed especially for cruising the canals of UK and Europe.

John Flynn, Managing Director of Le Skerne based in Trimdon Grange, County Durham, said: “As the demand for canal boats has decreased due to the volume of vessels already out there in the UK, there has been a massive influx of interest in the wide-beam boats that we also produce, and we are now approached more frequently directly by our customers, rather than by commercial agents.

“Land is becoming an increasingly rare commodity. Boat life provides a solution for people who still want to live in cities, and also offers the benefits of being able to choose fantastic surroundings.”

John applied for acceptance onto the Generate stage of Designing Demand, a national support programme which helps SMEs in using design to improve business performance.

John Flynn said: “When I first heard the name of the programme I envisioned embarking on a design project, such as a website or an advertising campaign. The programme actually offers a lot more than that and aims to analyse the very design of a company’s needs before identifying ways to progress.”

John is now working with a design manager to help the business identify the right projects to move forward.

Willie Herdman, who is responsible for delivering the Designing Demand programme in the North East, said: “Businesses such as Le Skerne are ideal candidates for the Designing Demand programme, as they have innovative design talent, rock-solid build quality, superb attention to detail, and most importantly a desire to move the business forward to meet the needs of an evolving market.”

For more information Designing Demand, visit www.designingdemand.org.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .