Origins

The Swiss owner of this facility is one of Europe’s most prolific hoteliers and the same insistence on striving for excellence in the hotel industry is employed at this shipyard. Senior management is predominantly European/S. African. Technology (including solar) is literally in a class of its own – one of PMG’s board members was an astronaut with NASA until 2012 and is now the President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation in Washington DC. The shipyard benefits from the application of cutting-edge approaches to construction and solar technology employed on board the International Space Station.  

Quality and price

Some 60% of the cost of construction is manpower and the cost of labour in Thailand is 30-40% less than in Europe.  Beyond this there are no import duties, surcharges or export license requirements.  This allows the shipyard to custom build yachts at a fraction of the cost of their European competitors and still maintain competitive pricing while going fully custom.  In fact it is for this very reason that the shipyard’s owner chose to build with PMG and then to purchase and upgrade the facility as a whole.  Disappointed by the inability of any shipyard to build the fully custom catamaran of his dreams the owner purchased this shipyard to make his concept a reality.  PMG is now the “go to” facility for custom built yachts destined for the Asian and Australian markets.

Entropia is assisting PMG to bring their reputation for custom/value/excellence to the Med markets; back to the owner’s origins. Thailand is the only country in Asia that offers vocational boat-building courses. Employees are hand-picked from these practical boat-building schools. Such is the popularity of this shipyard it is able to select the best of these graduates who are already familiar with vacuum infusion technology, carpentry, creating moulds, performing steelworks etc and then imposes its own higher standards. The combination of highly skilled workers, custom creations and tried/tested exterior lines results in extraordinarily strong but light boats. Lightweight boats mean that light engines can be placed on board propelling these craft at high speeds with minimal consumption.

Custom build philosophy

It is fundamental for yacht purchasers to understand the difference between a production yacht and a fully custom yacht.  This subject could occupy many pages instead of just one paragraph but in essence production yachts are mass produced.  Mass production usually means a more advantageous price but it is a philosophy that carries with it multiple quality control risks ranging from serious (life endangering) risks such as delamination to less serious but no less “bad for business” risks such as poor and cheap interior finishing with doors that do not properly close, drawers that do not properly fit and a feeling that the boat has been built to last no more than a few years.  Mass production usually requires parts to be built in one place and shipped to another for assembly.  Those same parts are used on board a range of yacht sizes which creates economies of scale for the shipyard but when “fitted together” on the assembly line a square insert for a circular space results in areas that are void.

By contrast customised construction at PMG ensures that every space on board is employed either for practical use or as a personalised design feature.  In fact, PMG’s philosophy and emphasis is the exact opposite of a production facility.  It is not a huge commercial venture that requires a certain number of yachts to be pushed out of the door monthly.  Instead, both owner and management team become deeply involved in achieving the goals of their client and even expanding those goals with the experience that the yard can leverage from so many custom builds.  In addition there is no financial guillotine threatening the shipyard.  The owner is independently wealthy and the shipyard is debt free.  This is one of those rare instances where a client can approach a facility with a concept and the shipyard can make this a reality at a custom-build and quality level without bankrupting the client in the process.  It is a fusion of European sophistication with materials and man-hour prices found only in Asia. 

Placing an order

PMG can price and build in accordance with specifications generated by the client.  The shipyard is happy to work with exterior and interior designers appointed by the client or to introduce clients to their own preferred design teams. The larger the yacht the greater the savings as compared to European facilities but the point to underline with PMG is that this yard is driven first by quality and safety. The fact that it is a leader in the fields of vacuum infusion, solar technology and custom construction is secondary. Since these boats are built for long-term cruising or chartering in the Indian ocean where making repairs or hauling yachts is often complicated the shipyard limits the scope for unnecessary nuisance repairs by employing the highest quality parts and allowing easy access for their repair or replacement while on the move. 

Warranty terms match or exceed the competition. Power and sailing catamarans from 48-105 feet are sold under the Heliotrope brand and these are listed below.  To discuss a Heliotrope order or a larger fully custom sail or power build please get in touch and we can help you to draw up the specification and layout with the shipyard and make that concept a reality.