New boat rigging and assembly centre for Barrus

Barrus has expanded its engineering and production facilities with a new boat rigging and UTV assembly centre.

Located at the company’s head office in Bicester, Oxfordshire, Barrus says the new facility enables it to offer its authorised marine dealers a rigging service for Zodiac and Bombard boats, installing and configuring Mariner and Mercury outboard engines and equipment.

Setting up an engine to a customer’s specifications, the company also offers the option of fitting additional equipment and controls from Mercury’s suite of SmartCraft integrated technologies including VesselView on-board management system and Simrad’s navigation and safety systems.

The new facility can handle boats up to five tonnes, delivering them back to the dealer once completed, ready for final checks before registering and handing over to the customer.

“This new venture is part of the second phase of realigning our boat business as we continue our strategy of partnering with premium brands,” says Ben Allen, general manager of the Marine Leisure Division at Barrus. “We will expand the service into other brands and longer-term we aim to offer a third party boat rigging service.”

The joint production and engineering facility is shared with Hisun, Barrus’s range of all-terrain UTVs and ATVs, which was introduced in 2018.

Tim Hart, sales and marketing director for Barrus, comments: “Service has always been a primary focus for Barrus and this new initiative further strengthens our commitment to providing the very best service available to our dealers, which in turn enables them to offer the same to boat and UTV owners.”