Business View Magazine
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says. “They’re focused on building new boats and mar-
keting them.” So, White Lake Marine adapted, once
again. “We have parts reproduced – decals, hardware
- whether it’s from the original manufacturer, or we’ll
source our own and manufacture those parts so peo-
ple can keep their older boats looking good and on
the water. We use local vendors. There are some dash
panels that a local guy cuts on a CNC (Computerized
Numerical Control) machine and prints for us; a local
graphic shop. For some items that are more complex
or unique, we’ll go out-of-house.”
In fact, deAndrade talks about the time he and his com-
pany went on a two-year, out-of-house, odyssey in order
to supply its customers with a particularly unique item
– a shift knob that Correct Craft had made for its boats
for decades. “They were a beautiful, wooden knob,”
he says. “Well, one day, we couldn’t get the knob, any-
more. So we called Nautique and asked, ‘Why can’t
we get the knob.’ ‘Well, we sold out.’ ‘Can you order
more?’ ‘Nope. The vendor doesn’t have them.’ ‘Who’s
the vendor?’ So, we got the vendor’s name, and looked
him up; he’s out in California. So, I contact the guy and
he says, ‘No, that was my dad’s side of the business
and I sold all the wood turning equipment. So, I don’t
have anymore.’ This is an icon of the boat; we have to
have these wood knobs.
“It took two years, but I ended up finding a company
that specializes in wood products and he sourced the
right kind of wood and the special threaded inserts
that made it through the problem, because he’s a
wood turner, not a machinist. We bought 1,000 inserts
- the minimum run for these threads – and then com-
mitted to this other guy to turn a minimum of 250 a
year for five years, and after the first year, we sold a
hundred. We bought out the rest of the run; we bought
out all the inserts. It was this long, drawn-out process
for a wooden knob that just costs about $24. But it’s
sort of how fanatical we are about supporting our cus-
tomers. The reason is: we love the boats, we really do.
We love their history. I grew up in it. It’s very close and
dear to our hearts.”
With the soft economic times behind them, deAndrade
sees continued growth, now, for both sides of the busi-
ness. Regarding its traditional, 60-year model of sell-
ing new and used ski boats, the company is trying to
improve its penetration further into the Raleigh/Dur-
ham/Research Triangle area of the state. “A significant
number of customers come from that market. So, in
trying to expand, we’ve opened a satellite, mini-dealer-
ship that has a couple of units of inventory for people
to see. Maybe we can pull those customers away from
another brand,” he says.
“But I feel like we may have more opportunity in the
