Anaheim, California-based watercraft design, engineering and
manufacturing company Willard Marine has entered into an exclusive licensing
agreement with Arkansas-based SeaArk Marine to build all of SeaArk’s commercial
and military boat models, the company said Dec. 3.
“The exclusive licensing of SeaArk Marine boat designs
better positions Willard Marine to do business with law enforcement and marine
security professionals throughout the US,” Willard Marine president and CEO,
Ulrich Gottschling, explained. “We can finally reach out to these new markets
with relevant, proven boat designs that they know and like. To be more
competitive, we must diversify our product portfolio, and this is one of many
moves planned over the next two years to grow our business.”
SeaArk, based in Monticello, Ark., is family owned and was
operated by the McClendon family beginning in 1959. In 2012, SeaArk’s military
and industrial boat-building division closed due to lagging sales during the
most recent recession.
SeaArk’s commercial division known for its Commander and
Dauntless series of aluminum work-and-patrol vessels ranging in size from 28
feet to 65 feet; both models sport the deep-V hull form developed by the world
renowned naval architecture firm C. Raymond Hunt & Associates, the same
firm that created the hull designs that Willard Marine uses for its military
and commercial rigid hull inflatable boats.
“The Willard Marine team was a respected competitor
throughout SeaArk Marine’s 55-year history, “John McClendon, who served as
president and CEO of SeaArk Marine for 16 years, said. “I know military and
industrial customers around the world will be thrilled to learn they can have
new boats built utilizing the wide variety of hulls and options that SeaArk
Marine developed over the years.”
The arrangement with Willard Marine does not apply to SeaArk
Boats, the Arkansas-based recreational boating division of SeaArk that has an
independent dealer network.
