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            Yachting for Forests aims for more sustainability aboard superyachts
            Yachting for Forests: Sustainability Standards for Woods on Your Yacht

            March 27, 2023 By Marie Cullen

            Junior SeaKeeper students learn about water sampling from superyachts
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            July 20, 2022 By Marie Cullen

            superyacht company Northrop & Johnson is supporting Water.org
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            June 11, 2022 By Marie Cullen

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            Graceful is alleged to be among Russian-owned superyachts
            Imperial Yachts, Several Superyachts Added to U.S. Sanctions List

            June 3, 2022 By Diane M. Byrne

            a new Y.CO partnership with YachtAid Global will see superyachts step up for sustainability
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            June 12, 2021 By Diane M. Byrne

            Bruce Brakenoff, Jr. and his team are now part of the Edmiston expansion in the USA
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            September 5, 2020 By Marie Cullen

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            Hargrave E Series Yacht Makes Global Premiere

            March 25, 2023 By Marie Cullen

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            March 24, 2023 By Diane M. Byrne

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            The Superyacht 6: 6 Editor’s Picks From the Monaco Yacht Show

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            March 23, 2023 By Diane M. Byrne

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            February 27, 2023 By Megayacht News Staff

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            January 25, 2023 By Jill Bobrow

            St. John is a budget-friendly charter destination for superyachts
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            November 29, 2022 By Megayacht News Staff

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            March 11, 2023 By Ken Kremsler

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            February 16, 2023 By Diane M. Byrne

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            January 23, 2023 By Diane M. Byrne

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            December 29, 2022 By Diane M. Byrne

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            March 18, 2023 By Ken Kremsler

            the Irina VU yacht is a Sunseeker 115 Predator like this sistership
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            February 3, 2023 By Diane M. Byrne

            superyacht crew gyms lead to better teamwork
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            January 19, 2023 By Ed Thomas

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            Vripack is upcycling with North Sails to get superyachts to help clean beaches
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            December 3, 2022 By Marie Cullen

            Donald L. Blount left an indelible mark on superyachts
            Donald L. Blount, Renowned Naval Architect, Dies

            July 15, 2022 By Diane M. Byrne

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            April 15, 2022 By Marie Cullen

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            Alexander Dreyfoos
            Megayacht News Leadership Series: Alexander Dreyfoos, Silver Cloud Owner

            September 6, 2016 By Diane M. Byrne

            Roberto Zambrini
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            August 1, 2016 By Michael Verdon

            Antonio Romano Hot Lab Yacht & Design
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            July 1, 2016 By Frances and Michael Howorth

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            March 20, 2023 By Diane M. Byrne

            Loretta Rogers owned the superyacht Loretta Anne
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            January 20, 2023 By Diane M. Byrne

            Donald L. Blount left an indelible mark on superyachts
            Superyacht Owners & Industry Figures Who Died in 2022

            December 29, 2022 By Diane M. Byrne

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            February 27, 2023 By Diane M. Byrne

            Jan-Eric Nyfelt, a co-founder of the Baltic Yachts superyacht yard, as a young sailor
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            February 7, 2023 By Diane M. Byrne

            Donald L. Blount left an indelible mark on superyachts
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            December 29, 2022 By Diane M. Byrne

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            February 4, 2023 By Marie Cullen

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            September 27, 2022 By Diane M. Byrne

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            March 8, 2023 By Ken Kremsler

            the Flute Mirabello superyacht tender show takes place at Porto Mirabello
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            January 13, 2023 By Ken Kremsler

            DB( is among brokerage yachts at FLIBS
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            superyacht owners can aid Mikoko Pamoja via Yacht Carbon Offset's blue carbon initiative
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            YacvhtAid Global launched Operation Viti for superyacht owners and crew to aid Fiji
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            Marina Port Vell is the Preferred Superyacht Marina for the 37th America's Cup
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            the Superyacht Cup Palma 2022 has high interest
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            NZ Superyacht Fishing Competition Coming in 2022
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Home / People / Leadership Series / Megayacht News Leadership Series: Joe Foggia, Christensen Shipyards

Megayacht News Leadership Series: Joe Foggia, Christensen Shipyards

November 1, 2013 By: Diane M. Byrne

Joe-Foggia-Christensen-ShipyardsChristensen Shipyards has come a long way since its first yacht, a 92-footer named Domino, was handed over in 1984. Under the direction of Joe Foggia, who became president and a managing partner in 2001, the Washington State builder has increasingly focused on the 150-foot-plus (46-meter-plus) megayacht market. Specifically, it offers yachts from 140 to 225 feet (about 43 to nearly 69 meters). It has also become a lean operation—as in Lean, the manufacturing philosophy focused on the elimination of waste, particularly in terms of time and operations. Foggia and the Christensen team became believers in Kaizen, also known as the Toyota Production System and akin to Lean, shortly after the global economic crisis slammed the yacht business.

In this Leadership Series profile, Foggia explains what drove the change in philosophy, the result it has had on how Christensen builds its megayachts, and how he tries to be frank with clients, many of whom he says he has come to regard as good friends and mentors.

 

Q: What attracts people to a Christensen yacht versus other yachts?

A: It’s several different things. I believe we build the best quality per square foot in the world related to our class of yacht. I think because we’re vertically integrated, and we do everything in house, and we control the quality, that has a lot to do with the overall quality of the vessel. We do all the stonework, all the woodwork, everything. A lot of other builders use subcontractors, and they switch out subcontractors, so quality from boat to boat changes under, I feel, most everybody else, whereas with us, the quality is consistent because we’re freaks about it. It’s always good, and always getting better under a continuous-improvement program we have here. I also believe it’s because we don’t flood the market with boats. We build an Ocean Alexander 120 every six months and a Christensen 140 or 164 every seven and a half months. So it’s one and a half to two boats a year. So, three or four years down the road, if the bubble bursts again, we only have eight boats out there, and if our customers have to sell, they don’t have to fire-sell.

 

Q: Other builders do what Christensen does, so what makes your yard different?

A: I think it’s our openness to get customer feedback—and when I say customer, obviously I mean the buyer, but also the crew, the surveyors, the brokers. We take everything that they have to say, and really digest it and look at it as an education. As in, “What can we learn from this?” “How do we utilize this?” If you came to the shipyard now, it’s completely different than even three or four years ago. We’re very transparent. Anyone can walk through and they can actually get a feel for where a department stands, what their current situation is relative to each project. All the schedules are in every department up on the wall, and they’re either green, which is good, yellow, which is in danger, or red, which is behind schedule. Everybody knows that if they’re in a red situation, it’s all hands on deck, and people are actually helping those individuals. Any owner can walk in here, any surveyor can walk in, and understand it. There’s nothing to hide. That goes for the product itself, too. Anybody can walk through and take a look at everything.

 

Q: In Kaizen, overproduction is considered a major type of waste. Can you explain?

A: Should we be building three pilothouses at one time? The answer is no. You build only what you need as you need it, otherwise you’re spending money where you don’t need to spend money, and when you should be spending money on the actual project as it goes forward. The typical tendency is to say, “Well, let’s build three pilothouses because it’s going to be cheaper that way.” But what ends up happening is you have three different parts sitting out in the yard, where you have people walking around them and trying to move them around. Then the next customer says they’re not going to use that style. That also goes for hull molds and all kinds of things. We looked at physically eliminating the big parts and only building them as we need them—the Just-in-Time concept. We ended up saving thousands of hours by doing that, and you end up not spending capital in unnecessary ways.

 

Q: What are the challenges of working with a megayacht client, and what advice do you give them?

A: The difference between today and 2000, when I took over the sales aspect, is that they are way more educated about the product that they’re buying. What we’ve seen as of the past couple of years is that we get the individuals who have had the Italian boat, the Dutch boat, the other American boats; they’ve had two or three, and they know what they want relative to the product. What I always tell them is, “Get the best people in here—get the best surveyors, attorneys, and whoever else you need, and let’s do it right. Let’s make sure everybody’s covered all around.” We front-load the boats, using the previous boat’s specifications. Obviously we deal with change orders if we have to. But the new boat has everything in it from the previous boat, and more. We have a very detailed specification. We make it as easy as possible up front. As long as everybody understands things prior to signing the deal, it all works out well.

We’ll do whatever somebody wants. But I always tell them, “I’m going to tell you my opinion. We’ll build what you want, but for resale, this might not be a good idea.”

Related posts

Megayacht News Leadership Series: Daryl Wakefield, Westport Shipyards Emile BilterijstMegayacht News Leadership Series: Emile Bilterijst, Moonen Shipyards Dave Christensen Christensen Shipyards megayachtDave Christensen, Founder of Christensen Shipyards: 1931-2018

Categories: Leadership Series, People, Yard StaffTags: Christensen Shipyards

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