Aritex: A Butique of Marine Hardware Design and Manufacture／Aritex 遊艇五金精品品牌
Aritex: A Butique of Marine Hardware Design and Manufacture
◎English translation: Peng Hsin-yi
◎Photos by Lin Yu-en
Aritex is a leading brand in the luxury-yacht hardware industry. Based in Kaohsiung, the company has made inroads in the international market, winning customers in the US, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Australia. It ranks as the seventh-largest yacht hardware manufacturer in the world, boasting revenue in 2011 of NT$400 million (about US$13.36 million) in 2011, of which 60% came from exporting goods.
No part is too big or too small for Aritex. The company's catalog features every kind of metal item one might need in a yacht, from doorknobs to staircases and railings.
Aritex was established in 1983, and its breakthrough came in 1996 at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, when a product bearing the name Aritex attracted a great deal of attention. Right after that show, Aritex won its first major international order from Lurssen Werft, a German shipbuilder famous for ultra-luxurious yachts. This order paved the way for Aritex's entrance into the European market.
The Mooring that Made the Tie
Over the years, Aritex has collected a very impressive list of clients. Among them are some of the biggest players in the yacht business, such as Lurssen Werft and world-renowned yacht shipyard Loyal van Lent in the Netherlands. Aritex's founder and General Manager Mr. Tseng Sin-jhe recalls working with these prestigious clients in the same tone of voice a person might use when talking about a teacher or a friend. He says working with such clients has been a significant factor behind Aritex's progress. When working on winning his first order from Lurssen Werft, he invested nearly NT$1 million (about US$30,000) to create the perfect mooring prototype. He understood well that the German company was not looking just for the functionality or design element of the product, or the high-end look and feel of it. They wanted all of those things. The sample Aritex delivered met every requirement, and thoroughly impressed Lurssen Werft, itself renowned for professionalism and perfectionism. That mooring became the tie linking Aritex to the much-coveted European market. Mr. Tseng's business card still shows that ground-breaking mooring; it is his way of honoring his relationship with that client. Mr. Tseng admires the Lurssens for having passed down an impeccable work ethic and sense of professionalism to the family's fifth generation. He hopes to pass down to the second generation leaders of his own company the same attitudes.
Aritex's relationship with Loyal van Lent is based on trust and partnership. Mr. Tseng says the exquisite showroom in Aritex's headquarters was built in order to meet Loyal van Lent's demands. The showroom displays a replica of the staircase that has been installed on the customized yacht commissioned by Louis Vuitton's CEO. The curvy arch and oval-shaped stainless steel pipe are signature designs unique to Aritex, not to be found anywhere else in the world.
Waiting for the Next Full Sail
In both the EU and the US, current economic conditions do not favor yacht makers or companies that produce parts for yachts. Mr. Tseng confesses he has never had to navigate through waters are choppy as these. He believes the future of Aritex depends on the company's ability to further strengthen its brand and market channels so that when the economy improves, Aritext will be in a favorable position to advance even further.
Mr. Tseng points out that marine hardware is an index industry worth watching, and as a international company, Aritex has social responsibilities. Many of Aritex's products are handmade, and the company has a large number of skilled workers. It has thus created many jobs in the area. Mr. Tseng says Taiwan has a competitive edge in the yacht industry because it has the ability to produce boutique-level marine hardware and customized luxury yachts. He hopes the government should pay more attention to this sector by establishing a specialized division which could study the market and international trends and offer support to the industry. He says that if Taiwan is to maintain its presence in the international yacht market, some level of alliance and integration is needed. By sharing resources, Taiwanese manufacturers will gain international leverage, maximize their collective forces and boost output.
Aritex 遊艇五金精品品牌
◎文／侯雅婷
◎攝影／林育恩
高雄的緯航企業以自創品牌Aritex進軍國際遊艇五金精品市場，時至今日，Aritex躋身全球七大遊艇五金精品製造商之一，2011年年營業額新台幣4億，外銷佔營業額六成，客戶遍及荷、德、法、澳、美。
Aritex製造的遊艇五金範圍小至一個門栓、門把，大至任何尺寸的金屬零件結構都能承作。
緯航企業創立於1983年，1996年為赴美參加全世界規模最大的「羅德岱堡國際遊艇展」，自創品牌Aritex，同年拿下以建造超級遊艇聞名的德國Lurssen 訂單，自此打進歐洲遊艇市場。
傳奇繫繩柱
Aritex的客戶不乏遊艇製造業重量級製造商，如以建造超級遊艇聞名的德國Lurssen和荷蘭的遊艇製造大廠Loyal van Lent，每位超級客戶都驅策Aritex 精益求精。Aritex總經理同時也是創辦人曾信哲談起，當初爭取Lurssen訂單的過程，Aritex斥資百萬打造質感、造型與功能性兼具的不鏽鋼繫繩柱，令Lurssen大感驚豔，Aritex因此取得前進歐洲市場入場券。到現在，曾信哲的名片上還印著這款繫繩柱，紀念著與客戶間亦師亦友的伙伴情誼，他以凡事追求盡善盡美，來形容傳承至第五代的德國Lurssen遊艇製造商無懈可擊的專業與工作態度，曾信哲希望能將這樣嚴謹的工作態度
傳承予Aritex的第二代。
而Aritex亦與Loyal van Lent建立深具信任的夥伴關係，曾信哲說，Aritex精緻的展示空間就是為了符合Loyal van Lent的標準而打造 ，展示廳陳列著與LV總裁遊艇內裝同款複刻版樓梯，弧線型彎曲造型的橢圓不鏽鋼鋼管是Aritex獨步全球的技術。
蓄勢待發
適逢歐、美選舉年，各項排富條款直接衝擊遊艇產業，曾信哲坦言，全球景氣嚴峻的情況，前所未見！未來考驗著Aritex如何擴大投資，加強品牌實力與市場通路，等到下一輪景氣循環，Aritex就有機會站在產業的最前端。
曾信哲表示，身為遊艇五金精品指標性產業，Aritex兼負社會責任，Aritex 每件不鏽鋼五金品的製作均仰賴龐大勞動人力，提供可觀的就業機會。曾信哲指出，台灣遊艇業的產業優勢在於遊艇五金精品以及遊艇製造業客製化能力笑傲全球，他呼籲，政府應責成遊艇專門研究機構，進行市場調查與國際情勢分析。曾信哲直言，台灣遊艇相關產業在國際間必須要進行整合，以整體力量去打這場國際戰，彼此資源共享，將產業實力集大化，創造出更大的產值。