At the Adriatic 42 mega yacht overhaul center in Bijela, 95 workers are currently employed, and the company’s executive director, Guillaume Roche, expects that in 5 years, the number of people involved in the business process, with external collaborators, will be from 600 to 800.
This winter, they will overhaul up to 40 vessels, and their goal is to soon service 100 yachts a year and take a leading position in the Mediterranean. In the area of ​​the former Bijela Shipyard, there is no more dangerous grit waste, and environmental protection is high on the agenda of Adriatic 42, claims Guillaume Roche.
In less than a year since the start of work, the Adriatic 42 Yacht Repair Center has already serviced several vessels, including the largest yacht in the world, Black Pearl. Currently, 4 ships are being overhauled in Bijela, Director Guillaume Roche pointed out.
– We now have 4 ships in service because the season has just started, there are also two ships of the Navy of the Army of Montenegro. We have a long-term contract with the Navy, which we are very proud of. I think we will service anywhere from 10 to 40 yachts this winter. We have ambitious plans to improve the business and service between 30 and 40 yachts next winter. I expect that in the next five to six years we will make additional progress and that we will be able to service up to 100 vessels in the winter season, which will bring this shipyard to a leading position on the market – said Roche.
The business plan for Adriatic 42 to take a leading position in the Mediterranean is ambitious but also realistic, because the Yacht Overhaul Center from Bijela has the best possible equipment and extremely professional staff, emphasizes Roche.
– We have unique capabilities and equipment – a floating dry dock with a capacity of 10,000 tons, a mobile crane that lifts vessels weighing up to 720 tons, which means that we can literally service all types of yachts in the Mediterranean. Another additional advantage of ours is that the shipyard is a large sophisticated area with a closed storage space of 100,000 m2, which is practically a rarity in the Mediterranean area. At the moment, 95 people work in the shipyard. Numerous employees are very professional, there are also 35 to 40 people from the former Bijela Shipyard. I am very pleased that they are part of the team. These are workers with experience and highly qualified for the job. Regarding the number of hired workers, our predictions are that in the next 5 years we will have to employ 600 to 800 people. I do not mean literally 600 workers, but also associates and satellite companies, which we will involve in the implementation of demanding projects and thus create the main yacht hub in the Balkans – said Roche.
He emphasizes that Adriatic 42 has established excellent cooperation with the local community and educational institutions in Boka and expects that the domestic skilled workforce will be interested in business engagement at the yacht repair center in Bijela.
