22 May 2024
Last night’s awards ceremony for the Australian Superyacht Commercial Marine & Export Conference (ASMEX 24) Marina Awards brought a timely industry recognition for The Boat Works owner Tony Longhurst, who was honored to receive the 2024 Marine Industry Champion Award.
Tony Longhurst has been recognized for his vision, foresight, and commitment to delivering major marine infrastructure, extensive refit and service facilities, and exceptional service. This recognition marks a decade-long journey since he officially took over the business from his brother Rodney Longhurst, who moved on to run Riviera. It has been 10 years of significant hard work behind the scenes, all driven by the reinvestment back into The Boat Works through major marine infrastructure with the ongoing pursuit to develop the world’s finest facility.
The Boat Works, Gold Coasts most comprehensive marine facility has undoubtedly grown into one of the world’s best, delivering high-quality service. As the largest industrial site on the Gold Coast, it provides 2,000 jobs within the facility.
Following significant private investment, The Boat Works has become the country’s largest, cleanest, and greenest yacht refit and maintenance facility, spanning 55 acres (22 hectares). Owner Tony Longhurst is now leading The Boat Works into a new era of service, pioneering revolutionary in-water, undercover chutes unique to the southern hemisphere, providing controlled working environments for all marine refit and maintenance projects.
“Reinvesting in The Boat Works has always been about creating jobs, providing security for families, and ensuring a future for the boating industry on the Gold Coast. Our vision is to attract more boats, including superyachts, to the Gold Coast and ‘grow the pie’ for everyone in the marine industry, tourism, hospitality, and the broader community.”
“We are building more major marine infrastructure to keep pace with demand and prepare for the future. More Boats, More Jobs! There is an urgent need for marine infrastructure to create thousands more jobs now and into the next decade to support our economy. The in-water Boat Sheds will be a game-changer for our Australian Marine Industry,” says Tony Longhurst.
“We take great pride in our reputation for fostering an exceptional internal culture among our marine trade professionals and boat works staff. Our commitment to going above and beyond for boat owners, captains, and marine trade professionals remains unwavering.” Owner Tony Longhurst.
MORE BOATS MORE JOBS | ASMEX | SUPERYACHT AUSTRALIA |
Tony Longhurst, The Boat Works = Marine Industry Champion 2024
