Factory Move??

[Pat Anderson]

OK, a plea to Jeff Messmer or Scott Mathews - PLEASE tell us about the factory move! At least the new address and directions to it, but would love to hear all the details!

 

[Chivita]

Next door to the Arima factory is the un-official gossip. Used to be a ski boat manufacturing place or something like that. Actually quite a nice facility with what looks like enough room for all the C-Dory/Tom Cat platforms. If that is finalized it would be great for those people shopping for either a C-Dory or an Arima, in one trip you could visit two great boat manufacturers. The lot will be a great deal easier to pull your boat and trailer in and out of with nowhere near the amount of road traffic that the current Kent location has.

Nissan, Dodge, Toyota, Jeep and Volkswagen owners can drop off the boat for service and drop the tow rig off next street over, can't get much better than that! Sorry, no facilities for BMW, Porsche or Mercedes guys though, hey this is the Kent/Auburn area ya know. Only drawback seems to be a greater distance from the Sound, but you can bring your Kayaks or poles as the Green River is pretty close.

Fenwick fishing gear guys will be happy to know that the Fenwick company was originated right up the road at, you guessed it, Lake Fenwick. Unfortunately it's an electric motors only lake that gets fished out pretty quickly.

Arima factory is in the Auburn/Kent valley about a half mile north of Emerald Downs race track. For those backyard boat builders, its also about a half mile or so east from the Systems Three Epoxy headquarters and three quarters of a mile from the Jet Tools factory, Delta Tools outlet and Bosch tool outlet as well. And for those who's toys include aircraft, it's a ten minute walk from Dick Scobee field, of course if you clip the fence north of the field why you'll probably end up in the Arima parking lot anyway but then you'll have to talk to the FAA before you get to talk to Scot or Jeff. Closest Starbucks is currently about three miles or so, (across from Auburn Marine) but give them a couple months and there will probably be several within walking distance.

Several Motorhome dealers have convieniently located themselves within a mile or so and even us bike nuts have been accomodated as there is both a pretty good Motorbike salvage place and a Harley shop a mile or so north. Sorry snowmobilers, Scot couldn't satisfy everyone.

 

[Jeff M]

Chivita's information is fairly accurate although I think Starbuck's is approximately 3.1 miles away. Yes, we are looking at consolidating our two factories and having some room to breath. Anytime that you have a Real Estate deal it is not done until money has changed hands and the Keys are handed over. We will keep you posted in the near future.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[Da Nag]

Chivita's information is fairly accurate although I think Starbuck's is approximately 3.1 miles away.

Starbucks? Feh...you guys deserve better than that. They're like the Bayliner of coffee.

Tell you what - if you have any money left over after moving into your new digs, set aside about $600 for a nice, quality espresso machine and burr grinder. I'll stop in on my next trip north, and give anyone who wants to learn barista lessons.

With a little practice, your employees will be brewing up masterpieces far superior to the swill that passes for refreshment at Starsucks. That, and they'll be more effificent - less time away from the shop on latte runs, and they'll work twice as fast.... :lol:

Congrats on the move...looking forward to hearing the details.

 

[Pat Anderson]

OK, this seems to be a bit of conflicting information from what I got from Rick when I tried to make an appointment a couple of weeks ago to get Daydream in for gelcoat repair (and now windlass installation). He said the move was set for the end of October, and gave me an appointment for November 4th, "after the move." Check me if I am wrong, but I doubt you are going to move in before you have closed! Is the end of October move date correct, and if not, am I going to get the same story when I come in on November 4th ("Can't get you in, we are moving at the end of November") And I will call of course, but it would be nice to know where I am going! I REALLY want to get my gelcoat repaired and windlass installed! I am losing good cruising time here! What is your advice?

Chivita's information is fairly accurate although I think Starbuck's is approximately 3.1 miles away. Yes, we are looking at consolidating our two factories and having some room to breath. Anytime that you have a Real Estate deal it is not done until money has changed hands and the Keys are handed over. We will keep you posted in the near future.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[Jeff M]

Pat, I am sure that with your business you have been involved with purchasing commercial real estate. There are a lot of pieces to this. Environmental studies, city ordinances, L&I, financing, fire Marshall, etc. I would have liked to have moved a month ago. I cannot put a time on when this is happening, and there is always the possiblity that it will not happen. If you are telling me that you cannot get out on the water because of some repairs that are needed then please bring your boat in today or tomorrow. We do not want you out of the water any longer than need be.

You are always welcome to e-mail or call me if you need any help or have any concerns. My cell phone and private e-mail address are listed below.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[Da Nag]

I am losing good cruising time here! What is your advice?

I'm assuming you are asking for Jeff's advice, but since it's posted here for everyone to see...my advice would be "patience". Realistically, I think you'll get a better answer by communicating with the factory directly.

A move of this magnitude is going to cause inconvenience and disruption, and even with the best planning it's unrealistic to expect the top notch service we get from C-Dory until they've settled into their new digs. While I can empathize with the need to get work done, it doesn't surprise me in the least that an appointment or deadline might slip during the move.

I think the end result will be well worth the temporary problems C-Dory customers might endure. Anyone who's been to the C-Dory factory knows they need more room, and if the rumors are true that they will be consolidating all manufacturing under one roof, all the better for them and us.

Also, given the factory's priorities right now, I think it's great Jeff is keeping us in the loop via posting here - he's surely got many more important things on his plate right now.

On edit...oops, didn't see Jeff's reply above. Looks like once again, they've got us covered with great response and service.

 

[jimandlaurie]

Thanks for the update ,Jeff!
I will be needing some repair also..but it is not a pressing thing for us .. we il wait ffor you guys to get up and running before we schedule it.. As you know you can count on the C-Brats for help, assistance in keeping the lions at bay. You have been very supportive here and it shows in your service to your C-Dory owners. Hang in there, you got our Support for sure!

 

[Pat Anderson]

Yeah, guess I could have taken my own frustration to email to Jeff...My repairs ARE pressing, as you recall I got some serious (self-inflicted) damage to the both sides of the bow when some low-life stole my trailer bow roller at John Wayne Marina and I was forced to tow home with no roller, not just cosmetic damage.

I assume everyone is interested in when / where the factory is moving, and I was getting conflicting info. Now we know - they are scrambling to finalize the move but the date is indefinite at the moment.

I'm assuming you are asking for Jeff's advice, but since it's posted here for everyone to see...my advice would be "patience". Realistically, I think you'll get a better answer by communicating with the factory directly.

 

[Otter-BelleHavenMarina]

Last month, my office celebrated the second anniversary of the first time our office move was delayed. We are in an State Department annex and have been "about to move" to a new building for 2 1/2 years! Gotta love working for the government. If only C-Dory were in charge of our move!

 

[My IRA]

Visited the factory today to pick up our boat (mostly minor repairs) and posed the question on the move. The information posted here is accurate and up to date. Commercial land deals take time (especially when you want to locate a factory that builds FRP boats).

Just a note that has been echoed here before, what a great bunch of folks work at building our boats and backing up their warranty (A+ in my book).