Horizon 53 to be exhibited at Phuket International Boat Show. builder and
distributor both anticipate increased interest in
Thailand for Taiwan-built
luxury yachts. Taiwan’s Horizon Yacht will display a boat in Thailand for
the first time ever, during the Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX) from
8-11 December. Kaoshiung-based Horizon Yacht, which is the largest luxury
yacht manufacturer in Taiwan, will display its entry-level size boat - the
Horizon 53 – courtesy of its South East Asia distributor Kingfisher Marine.
Headquartered in Phuket, Kingfisher Marine - the exclusive sole
distributor for Horizon Yachts in South East Asia and China - anticipates a
strong upswing in interest for the Taiwanese brand amongst Thai boat buyers
following a highly successful showing at this year’s Boat Asia in Singapore.
During the regional boat show, the company had already sold one Horizon 53
to a local Singaporean buyer and placed orders for a further two Horizon 73
yachts to be delivered in 2006. The Horizon 53 sold in Singapore will be the
yacht exhibited by Kingfisher Marine in Phuket.
To accommodate this dramatic rise in interest for the Horizon brand
amongst Singaporean buyers, Kingfisher had also announced that the company
will open a sales and service office in Singapore at the upcoming ONE°15
Marina Club at Sentosa Cove.
Kit Chotithamaporn, Kingfisher Marine’s director, said, “With
increasingly more Thais, as well as expatriates, becoming interested in
boating in Thailand, it’s the right time to highlight Horizon here in The
Kingdom. Kingfisher Marine is thrilled to be showing the Horizon 53, which
is a fully customisable luxury yacht made to the highest specifications. We
expect the boat to draw crowds at PIMEX during its showing,” he said.
John Lu, founder and CEO of Horizon Yacht, echoed this when he said,
“Horizon is already a major brand in Europe and the United States, but now
is the time for us to spread our wings to markets like South East Asia and
China. Taiwan’s close proximity to markets such as Thailand and Singapore
make it easy for standard maintenance and repair visits to be scheduled at
short notice, which is one strength we are able to offer in the sphere of
customer after-service”.
“All out boats from smallest to largest are also fully customisable –
something that the other Top 10 world boat builders don’t generally provide.
We have good expectations for the Phuket Boat Show and look forward to
catering to more Thai customers in the near future,” said Mr. Lu.
A Singapore boat reviewer recently said this of the yacht to be exhibited
at PIMEX, "The Horizon 53 is a big boat and yet behaves, well, like a big
car. She can make tight turns at high speed and seems to float calmly like a
Cadillac over bumps in the road, even in choppy seas. During manoeuvres, the
Horizon 53 rode through waves without that punchy feel some large yachts
tend to have and didn't shudder at all. In many respects the Horizon 53
behaves almost like a sportboat, jumping on plane within seconds due to her
powerful, twin 700hp caterpillar diesels. She also docks easily, thanks to a
standard bow-thruster,” (Robert Stedman, The Peak Magazine).
The Horizon brand is now the largest and most successful Taiwanese luxury
yacht builder and is ranked amongst the top ten in the world by Boat
International magazine. It is the only regional boat builder to build
regularly in the 100-feet megayacht range and is a boat-building business
established on 20 vigorous years of sales success in Europe and the United
States. With the majority of Horizon’s production output is exported to
Europe under the brand name ‘Elegance’, Horizon are the only Taiwanese
builder to have successfully penetrated the European market. The brand is
already a household name to such celebrities as Ralf Schumacher, who owns
two Horizons – a 64-feet and a 110-feet.
Located in the Southern coastal city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Horizon Yacht
produces yachts from the range of 53 to 130 feet in three separate yards.
Vision Yachts builds the range from 53 to 73 feet, Horizon Yacht builds the
range from 73 to 130 feet, and ATECH, their 300,000 square feet lamination
facility provides their hulls and fiberglass parts.
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