AB Inflatables moves world headquarters to Colombia

New state-of-the art production facility, highly skilled workers & favorable business climate will help manufacturer to better serve customers

Barranquilla, Colombia, SOUTH AMERICA—After nearly four decades of building inflatable boats in Venezuela, AB Inflatables has moved all boat production to a new state-of-the-art factory in the neighboring country of Colombia. The last day of production in Venezuela was Dec. 21.

“All of the machinery is new, from the cutting equipment to the fiberglass machines. We have the most advanced equipment available for the work we do,” said company president Ivor Heyer.

The company’s new base is in Barranquilla, Colombia. It is strategically located in the duty free zone on the waterfront, 500 feet from customs and a half mile from the port. It is also located an hour from the port cities of Cartagena and Santa Marta, giving the company the ability to ship from three convenient locations.

The 100,000 square-foot space offers plenty of room for expansion. “We have a facility that is three times the size of our old one,” Heyer said. “We want to double production in three years.”

AB Inflatables has been manufacturing high-quality inflatables, from tenders to coastal cruisers, since 1968. It builds 35 different models of boats ranging in size from 8 to 28 feet. The entire manufacturing process, from the building of fiberglass and aluminum hulls, to the fabrication of the tubes, is done under one roof.

“With our new plant it takes quite a bit less time to build a boat than it did in Venezuela,” Heyer said. “When you build a second home you correct the mistakes of the first one. So it is with the new factory. We have changed the way we set up production to make it more efficient.”

Production in Colombia began several months ago. During the transition period, as new workers are trained, products will gradually be brought on line until full production of 3,000 boats per year is reached sometime in March, according to Heyer.

Heyer began to search for a more business friendly location for his manufacturing operation because of difficulties in finding dependable, skilled labor, along with aggressive labor unions and government red tape that affected the company’s efficiency and ability to ship product in a timely fashion.

“I know that last year, due to political reasons in Venezuela, we had a lot of problems with labor and with importing/exporting product, which caused delays and a lot of frustration to our distributors and dealers,” he said.

After looking at the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Panama, he settled on Colombia as the new location. Not only did the country have a specialized labor force, which the other countries did not have, its stable democracy and the fact that it is a big exporter of products to the United States, were major drawing cards. More than half of all the nation’s exports and about 45 percent of AB’s production go to the U.S. market.

“Workers in Columbia are highly skilled and well-educated. They are more responsible, more dedicated to work,” Heyer said. “In Venezuela we had a lot of problems finding welders. In Colombia we have a lot available. There’s a big difference.”

“Another big advantage is we are in a free trade zone. We can import goods—materials, machinery, everything we need for the development of our business—without paying taxes, which gives us a competitive edge over Venezuela and other countries.”

What does this mean for dealers and distributors?

“By moving and building a larger, more modern factory, it is our goal to be the most reliable state-of-the-art manufacturer of Hypalon™ inflatable boats in the industry,” he said. “You can count on us.”