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242 243 family company of our size.Our competition likes to tell everybody how big and bad we are, but when it comes down to it,we’re just like them, but a little bit more organized.” Going forward, Pretasky says that SkipperBud’s is looking to expand geographically-both in the Midwest, as well as on the west coast, but only if the expansion fits into its current business model.“We’re not going to do a boat sales only location or a boat sales and service location,”he explains.“We have to have a marina; the whole storage, slip, dry stack, service, parts, and boat sales has to be something or we don’t go after it anymore.”Prime targets for any new acquisitions are family-owned businesses.“A lot of marinas are owned by families and that group of ownership is aging- the family and the marina.And to invest in redoing the marina is a huge cost, so a lot of times, a family will choose to sell, rather than invest millions of dollars.” Although SkipperBud’s may have grown from a small, family-owned boat business into a multi- state enterprise that sells and services thousands of boats a year, Pretasky stresses that its focus has always been on serving its most important custom- er–other American families.“Boating is family-ori- ented; it’s a family purchase; it’s a family event,”he declares.“If your car breaks down and your dealer gives you another car while fixing yours, it’s not a big deal. But if your boat’s broken for the weekend and your family was planning on going out and spending the day, that’s a big emotional issue.You’re messing with family time.” And that’s something that the SkipperBud’s family never wants to do. SKIPPERBUD’S PREFERRED VENDORS n Cruisers Yachts www.cruisersyachts.com Cruiser Yachts, a brand of pleasure boats, that today is owned by KCS International, was originally founded in 1953 in Oconto, Wisconsin by Ray, Glenn, brothers Roy and Grant, and brothers Bob and Ted Thompson. They were second-generation members of the Thompson family, involved in boat building at Peshtigo, Wiscon- sin and Cortland, New York. Roy and Grant were following in their father Chris’s footsteps, who had co-founded the Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Company in 1904. In the first year of operation, Cruisers constructed 14 and 16 foot lapstrake boats, and sold them to the Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg Co. with the Thompson name badge on the hulls. The first cabin-cruiser model was a 19-foot-3-inch lapstrake boat, which was introduced at the 1954 New York Boat Show; it featured a sink, alcohol stove, water closet, cushioned bunks to sleep four, cabin lights, and a collapsible table. In 1965, the company’s wood boats were replaced with fiber- glass as the new technology was wreaking havoc with the wood boat business. Today, the company builds express cruiser and fly- bridge style yachts, and has recently introduced new models that fit into the new sport coupe class of express boat. Cruiser Yachts currently employs approximately 1,000 people, with an annual sales figure exceeding $94 million. n Beneteau Groupes www.beneteau-group.com PROUD TO BE PARTNERED WITH SKIPPER BUDS