Ron Cleveringa of Burger Boat Company joins co-hosts Kate Bruns and Ann Franz on this week’s episode of the NEW Manufacturing Insights podcast, detailing the past, present and future of the 161-year-old Manitowoc-based shipbuilder, which officially ranks as our state’s second-oldest company.
This episode, along with all other July and August episodes of NEW Manufacturing Insights, is sponsored by The Boldt Company.
Cleveringa, who tells the co-hosts “you can drop a pin in Green Bay and draw basically a 50-mile radius” to quickly understand the prevalence and prominence of the New North region’s marine industry, says working for Burger Boat Company was actually a childhood dream of his growing up in Michigan. He has now dedicated the last 25 years of his career to Burger Boat, currently serving as the firm’s senior vice president.
He says adaptability has been the key to Burger Boat’s longevity.
“Burger has been able to transition to whatever the market needed at any given time, whether it be small fishing vessels, commercial vessels of all different types and styles,” Cleveringa explains.
Today, Burger is primarily focused on building custom motor yachts, with two currently under construction. Today’s clients, Cleveringa says, demand more features and attention to detail than ever before. And because the builds are so customized, customers are often required to use their own imagination in the sales process.
“Each boat is different, and it’s built to specific requirements of their owner,” Cleveringa says on the episode. “You can’t take a model to a boat show.”
Listen to this week’s full, 14-minute episode now.
You can also read more about Wisconsin’s boatbuilding industry in last summer’s July IOM cover story, “Forward.”
NEW Manufacturing Insights is hosted by Spreaker, but you can listen and subscribe anywhere you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, which is now available on the web in addition to the popular app. NEW Manufacturing Insights is a joint production of Insight on Manufacturing and the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance, produced by B.J. DeGroot of Woodward Community Media. New episodes are released on Thursdays.
