Dutch superyacht yard Heesen has officially opened its newly expanded in-house interiors facility in Winterswijk.
The new interior workshop, located an hour away from Heesen’s headquarters in Oss, has been expanded by 2,240 square meters and employed an additional 30 employees.
These enhancements bring the total production area to 8,100 square metres and the workforce to a total team of 130. The office space has also increased by 332 square metres to 1,000 square metres.
A ceremony was held to mark the opening this week (February 15, 2020) and was attended by the Mayor of Winterswijk, Joris Bengevoord together with Heesen's Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Directors.
Heesen has previously said that the expansion was a direct result of the yard receiving more orders for bigger superyachts, noting that “the level of sophistication and expertise required to produce interiors on this level means more space, more equipment and more artisans” were needed to meet demand. Sizeable superyachts recently launched by Heesen have included Project Triton and Project Electra, both measuring 50 metres in length.
Henry Schreur, Managing Director of Heesen Interiors, said: “Exceptional artisanal craftsmanship sits at the heart of yacht building, and the expansion of our Winterswijk facilities reinforces not only the strength of the work being undertaken in-house at Heesen, but also the lengths that we go to in order to deliver unrivalled customer satisfaction.”
The news comes after three other Dutch yards announced similar expansions last year. Feadship opened a new facility large enough to enable the yard to build 160 metre yachts, while Royal Huisman announced it was taking over Holland Jachtbouw's Amsterdam facility and Oceanco acquired an additional 28 acre site in Zwijndrecht.