A month after laying off all 75 employees, Goetz Custom Boats recalls its entire workforce
Goetz Custom Boats has built some of the fastest sailboats in the world, but the simple act of opening the doors on Wednesday may stand as one of its most gratifying moments. A month after owner Eric Goetz delivered the grim news to 75 employees that the firm was going into receivership and all were being laid off, Goetz Boats returned to business Wednesday.
The 34-year-old Bristol firm is still in receivership, and future ownership of the firm is yet to be determined, but all employees have been recalled to work, and they expect to be operating at full capacity next week.
The past month has not been easy for Mr. Goetz or his employees. “It was very, very frustrating,” he said inside the firm’s Broadcommon Road headquarters Wednesday morning. “You feel like you let a lot of people down.”
Goetz tumbled into financial distress in December, when one of its main customers — a Scotsman building an 85-foot racing sailboat — suddenly and without explanation stopped making payments and told the firm to stop work. Mr. Goetz said he never got a good explanation for the stoppage, but the world’s economy is obviously making people jittery across the planet.
Because Goetz builds high-end, custom boats that can take a year or more to complete, the sudden work stoppage was devastating. Mr. Goetz compared it to a contractor told to walk away from a half-finished house with no other jobs in sight.
With the revenue stream dried up, Goetz could not keep up with debts or payroll and was forced to close shop and file for receivership. All employees received their final pay, vacation and benefits before they were let go, but numerous creditors were not paid.
At the time, Mr. Goetz spoke optimistically about getting the firm back on its feet, but he had no way of knowing if or when that would be. Everything changed two weeks ago, when the Scottish customer flew here to meet with Goetz management and receiver Thomas Hemmendinger.
Mr. Hemmendinger said they were able to convince the customer to re-commit to the project and turn on the money supply once again. They convinced a second customer whose 85-boat is also under construction to do the same, and Goetz was back in business.
They began notifying employees immediately that they could return to work. Mr. Goetz is touched that many of the 75 laid-off employees never really left. They continued to come to work with no pay and no guaranteed future in order to keep the business in order. Mr. Goetz said their commitment has been incredible.
“We had 25 to 30 guys here, volunteering,” he said. “They’re fantastic people. That’s why it was so nice today to welcome them back. I’m glad to see my friends here today. These are my friends.”
Goetz general manager Guy Gauvin expects nearly all of the 75 employees to return. A couple decided to go back to school, he said, which means they actually have to hire a couple of people to fill those vacancies.
One of those returning to work is Tom Black, who’s been with the firm for 10 years. Mr. Black has a wife and two children, and though his wife’s nursing income kept them afloat, he said it’s nice to be back at work. He spent more time cleaning the house and cooking meals the past month than he would have liked, so building boats is a welcome relief.
As work on the two boats resumes, Goetz is equally busy repairing or maintaining its professional relationships with vendors and suppliers. In the symbiotic world of local boatbuilding, every time Goetz builds a boat, a number of nearby firms pitch in to provide painting, custom metal and carbon fittings, spars and much more.
“Our vendors have been fantastic,” Mr. Gauvin said. “They’ve been very supportive. We’ve been in communication with them throughout.”
Goetz Custom Boats is under control of the Superior Court-appointed receiver, Mr. Hemmendinger. His job now is to sell the firm and all its assets, and distribute the proceeds to Goetz’s creditors. Though Mr. Goetz would seem to be an obvious buyer, there are no guarantees. Anyone can negotiate to buy the firm.
Mr. Hemmendinger would not discuss in detail the firm’s future, other than to say, “I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll be able to find a buyer who will be able to keep the business in Bristol.” He added, “I’m very glad the receivership has been able to resume operations and rehire people, especially in this economy.”
So what happens to these workers when the boat is completed?
As long as the company continues to bring in new work, they will be employed.
I am happy for Eric and hope for the best for his company. He has been a staple in the Bristol area for many years.
My only issue is that the article says that all employees will be getting called back. I'm a former employee whom was laid off in August during the first wave of cost saving measures, and was expecting to be called back in October. October came and went and after several emails to my supervisor inquiring about returning to work, i was told time and time again I would be called back. I'm disappointed, because I really enjoyed working for Goetz and thought I would have had a future there like so many others.
It is good to see that Goetz Custom Yachts is back up and running and NEB wishes him and his staff a successful future.
As an employer in the same business you never want to see a decline in business that we are all experiencing now. Everyone in the marine trades is felling the economic crunch and with no new builds on the horizon, and boat owners cutting back on enjoying their passion the future is not looking good, but we are hope full that it will turn around. That said it is important that every tradesmen take into consideration that the work they do and the time they do it in is efficiently executed to stream line the cost of building products we can all be proud of and customers can afford. The futures of the marine trades are in the hands of those who do the work in production of the products we sell. If a customer can get good value for their money they will buy our products and business will continue to provide an income stream for its talented work force.
it's a shame about all the vendors that provided goods and services in good faith, but have now gotten the shaft and will never get paid...
