Rex-- Have you done any research on what the US/Canadian market might be for your products?
When we went in search of a replacement for our Bruce, I first heard the name "Rocna" on the Grand Banks owners forum. Tthis was some seven or eight years ago as I recall, maybe even more. I looked at their website, watched their videos, read the user testimonials that were on the web here and there, and decided the anchor was worth a try as it offered (in my opinon) a far better anchoring concept and design than any of the other anchor types I was familiar with. Our attitude was that if it worked better for us, great, if it didn't we 'd try something else.
So I called Rocna in NZ and talked to them for a long time about their anchor, our boat, and our boating environment. They recommended a specific model of their anchor for our purposes, but then said that the shipping cost of anything other than their smallest models would be pretty staggering. Which it was.
But.... and this is where this story might apply to you... they had just started having the Rocna manufactured in Vancouver, BC. They said that the BC fabricator used manufacturing methods that were even more advanced than theirs down in NZ. Same anchor, same label, same design, same warranty, same materials (the right ones in those days). The only difference was where it was made. THe purchase price was the same from the BC fabricator as it was from Rocna in NZ. The difference was the shipping cost.
So we ordered one from the Vancouver fabricator, which I was told was the first Rocna ordered from the PNW. When it was built (they only built to order back then) we simply drove up to Vancouver and picked it up.
The anchor was nearly $1,000 back then, but we didn't have to pay duty because when we told the US customs guy at the border that we'd bought an anchor during our day trip to Vancouver, he looked in the back of the Range Rover where it was sitting and decided that a lump of metal didn't have much value and waved us through.
My point is that I'm wondering--- if a market study shows a sufficient demand for your products in North America--- if having it manufactured in Canada might be a way to go.
I have no idea if this would be cost effective, because whether it's shipping in bulk from Australia or paying a supplier to manufacture the anchors here (leaving a profit for you in either case) those costs would have to be reflected in the consumer's price for the anchor. And what that would do to your competitive position I have no idea.
Initially for Rocna, it made their anchors very, very expensive to buy in this country. This was, I'm sure, the motivation for moving production to China, first with Holdfast and now with Canadian Metals.
Which, of course, would be another option for you. I realize a lot of people have an immediate reaction of "it would become a crappy product if you build it in China." But I've worked there enough to know that this is not the case at all. In China, you get what you ask the fabricator to make. But you do have to have good oversight, which I suspect is probably what happend to the Rocna when Holdfast started having them made there. Holdfast didn't maintain good oversight and the fabricator decided to cut costs by using a lower grade of material. That's my guess as to what happened, anyway.
But Nordhavn does great buidling in China. Boeing and Airbus do great building in China. EDO Floats (for floatplanes) which is owned by Kenmore Air Harbor here in Washington, does great building in China. In all cases, the parent company keeps a close eye on the manfuacturing quality, just as they keep a close eye on what goes on in their home plants.
Anyway, while there's been a lot of "you should sell them here" talk on this forum, the forum represents a tiny fraction of the North American boating market. Which is why I'm curious if you've evaluated what that market is in reality in terms of selling your products here.
For Rocna, manufacturing in China allows them to price their product very competitively here in the US and Canada. I see more and more of them in our marina. There are three or four boats on our dock alone that have switched to Rocnas within the last few years.
The anchor we bought so many years ago costs far, far less today than what we paid for it. And, assuming it's now made out of what it's supposed to be made out of, it's the exact same anchor that we bought way back when for whole lot more. (We're still not sure about the materials they use, which is why we keep ours padlocked to the boat.
)
Don might want to do the same with his new Sarca.