Production milestones are flitting past like lampposts over at Gemini Marine, which looks set for another big one – the official rescue boat supplier of an iconic trio of remote south Atlantic islands.
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha are administered as a single overseas territory under the British crown. They also now have Gemini Marine in common, much to the delight of Gemini owner and chief executive Gerhard Neethling. “In the next month we will probably have completed and sea-trialed a state-of-the-art rescue vessel purpose-built for Ascension Island. That would mean Gemini would then be the official rescue boat supplier for three of the most remote inhabited islands in the world,” Neethling told SABBEX.
“I am more than confident that no other boat builder in the world has that bragging right — I’m very proud of the achievement.”
The news comes just days after Neethling confirmed another milestone – a long-awaited yard relocation to make space for expanded production. In March Gemini will move from Epping Industrial to a new home 17km away in a secure business park in Blackheath. The new plant used to house British car manufacturer Leyland South Africa.
The move means Gemini production will be under one roof, providing better production synergies. Currently the company operates out of two separate facilities and an additional warehouse.