Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Roberts.
Todd, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It surprises a lot of people when I tell them I was born and raised in San Diego. I grew up sailing in the Coronado Yacht Club youth sailing program and was an avid water polo player for Crawford High School. Sounds pretty average, but my parents owned a department store and worked around the clock keeping it successful, which took the “average” out of my childhood. At 8 years old, I was learning how to source merchandise and what tailored-to-fit meant in men’s suitwear. Working hard was a common theme in my home. When I was 14 years old, I got my first job outside the family as a deckhand for San Diego Harbor Excursion (which is now Flagship Cruises & Events). Each summer I did it all—swabbed decks, collected tickets and worked as a deckhand on the ferries to and from Coronado. When it was time for college, I knew I wanted a career in the maritime industry but wasn’t sure how. Then one day, I went sailing with a friend’s dad who told me all about how he went to the California Maritime Academy and came out eventually owning a successful boatyard. Little did anyone know that I’d do the same one day.
I applied to Cal Maritime and got my Bachelors in Business Administration with an emphasis in intermodal transportation. College took me all around the world – Russia, the far east, Alaska just to name a few. I graduated with an unlimited 3rd mates license that allowed me to sail as third officer on any ship in any ocean and eventually a Master 1600 tons certificate which means I can operate any boat up to 1600 gross tons in any ocean. After sailing on a variety of ships I came ashore to work as a port captain for a bulk shipping company here in San Diego. Having a very loose schedule, I took a part-time job back at San Diego Harbor Excursion.
Within a short period of time, I was promoted and assumed the role of Director of Operations for their entire fleet of boats. In two years, I helped them reduce operational costs while increasing revenue, and designed two boats to add to their fleet – the California Spirit and California Princess. Eventually, the president of the company began assigning special projects to me—one of which was to closed down one of their boatyards in Chula Vista, formerly known as South Bay Boatyard.
For 20 years, South Bay Boatyard serviced smaller boats such as the tuna fleet along with smaller military crafts. The tuna industry in San Diego shrunk and towards the latter part of the boatyard’s life, revenues began to suffer. South Bay Boatyard became more of a burden than what it was worth. So in 1999, at the age of 26 years old, I went down there to close up shop. However, when I got there, I didn’t see what others saw which was a dilapidated boatyard. Instead, I saw huge growth potential in a million square feet of prime waterfront property. I asked the owners if I could keep the place running to see if I could turn a profit. I borrowed the “jiffy lube” model and applied it to the boatyard market— “Oil changes and bottom paints in five days or less.” It worked. In the first five years of working there, we went from making $1 million in revenues to $5.9 million. In 2005, I developed a business plan for targeting a new segment of the industry called the “superyacht” market. No one had ever heard of a yacht being larger than 100 feet, but I had. I would get calls from captains of 150’ yachts in the Caribbean that I had to I turn away because we didn’t have the equipment to lift anything over 70 feet. With that in mind, the owners gave me the go ahead to invest $6.5 million into buying larger equipment and renovating our facilities to better cater to this higher end market.
In January of 2007, we reopened our doors with a brand new modern office-gym complex, all paved facilities, newly built waterfront piers and a new 665-ton travelift, the second largest in the world. It was even featured on The History Channel’s show Modern Marvels for being able to lift the single largest load in the nation (at the time). To better reflect the changes from the renovation, we rebranded and called ourselves Marine Group Boat Works, and our first superyacht client was the famous Oracle CEO Larry Ellison with his 193 foot yacht called RONIN.
When you do something as monumental as rebuilding a business around a market that nobody thought existed and you succeed, you definitely can’t stop. Not long after, we began construction and launched a 12-slip superyacht marina called Fifth Ave Landing, located in the heart of downtown San Diego. Then, in 2010, we launched Marine Group de Los Cabos, a full-service boat repair facility in Cabo Mexico. And it wouldn’t be a story without a full circle moment. In 2012, the boatyard of my friend’s late father who inspired me to attend the maritime academy, was for sale. I have paid my respects since and led the acquisition of the boatyard, which we now use to repair and construct vessels for the Navy and commercial customers.
Has it been a smooth road?
We work on San Diego’s most prime real estate, where politicians and government officials want to see football stadiums, convention centers, hotels and parks on the waterfront. Unfortunately, none of them have boatyards on their vision boards, even when boatyards achieve the same objective and more. We not only bring people from all over the world to enjoy San Diego’s waterfront, but we also support others who make a living on the same waterfront such as Hornblower Cruises & Events, Point Loma Sportfishing, San Diego Maritime Museum—without us, they’d have to service their boats in L.A. or Mexico.
Also, as mentioned before, the superyacht market is relatively new. We’re still educating the public on the impact superyachts makes on our economy. For example, we had one yacht in here that took two years to complete, with the owner spending well over $4 million in repairs. It had a crew of six Australians, New Zealanders and Belgians who the owner put up in temporary housing not to mention the owner flying in himself once a month to monitor the progress. In addition, sailing specialists and craftsmen from Europe were flown in to perform portions of the work for the owner valuing $6 million. While all those people visited, they spent money on hotels, going out to eat, baseball games, concerts, you name it. And before the yacht left for its long trip back to Europe, the crew spent thousands of dollars at Costco, Iowa Meat Farms, Specialty Produce and other provisioning stores to ensure their boat was stocked for the journey. With that in mind, there’s an audited statistic published by a county in Florida that couldn’t be more accurate — $1 in yacht repairs equates to $7 more spent in the local economy. In the last five years, we saw over $25 million in superyacht revenues. You do the math.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Marine Group Boat Works story. Tell us more about the business.
We are specialists when it comes to steel, aluminum and fiberglass boats up to about 300 feet. We work on all kinds of boats whereas other yards just focus on one segment of the industry. Nowhere in the world will you see a Navy training vessel drydocked next to a Flagship Dinner Cruise boat drydocked next to two National Geographic expedition boats drydocked next three luxury mega yachts drydocked next to a 36’ sailboat—and I just described 20% of the boats currently in our yard today. Another thing that sets us apart is our ability to keep up with the times and do things in the industry that’s unheard of. Last year, we became the first solar-powered boatbuilder and superyacht repair facility in the world. We installed a 500 kW rooftop solar panel system at our yard in National City where we just finished building a tugboat for NASSCO and a workboat for Mission Bay City of San Diego’s Parks and Rec department. We also run a fleet of electric vehicles and are getting ready to beta test some new electric forklifts. When we say we have a goal of becoming a zero-emissions boatyard, we actually do things to reach it.
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
My proudest moment has definitely been being able to balance work and family, raising two incredible kids while sharing my passion for the water with them. I know my love for my job inspires them and even trickles down to my employees. Seeing my passions, such as boating and protecting the environment, become my kids’ and employees’ passions is rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Address: Marine Group Boat Works Headquarters: 997 G Street, Chula Vista, CA 91910
- Phone: 619-427-6767
- Email: [email protected]
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