Grand Banks to Expand Malaysian Boatbuilding Facility

By Anna Cummins

The US $6.4m expansion is expected to be completed by August 2024.

Singapore-listed shipyard Grand Banks Yachts has announced that it is expanding its production facility in Malaysia by more than 25 per cent, to allow the yard to handle bigger luxury boats, increase capacity and accelerate its boat-building activities.

The expansion, which will cost approximately MYR 30 million (US$6.4m), is expected to be completed by August 2024. The luxury yacht builder said the proposed new single-storey facility will be built on the existing land plot at its yard in Pasir Gudang in Johor state and will add 143,300 sqft (13,313 sqm) of usable floor space to the 550,000 sqft (51,097 sqm) currently, bringing the total to nearly 700,000 sqft (65,000 sqm).

Grand Banks says the new facility will ‘further cement the yard’s lead as one of the most advanced luxury boat-building facilities in Asia’. Grand Banks has received the requisite approvals from Malaysian authorities, and construction is expected to commence in August 2023. The group will fund the expansion with a mix of internal resources and bank loans.

The expansion is a major part of Grand Banks' strategy to ramp up boat construction and improve delivery times. Since the onset of the pandemic, demand for its three luxury yacht brands — Grand Banks, Palm Beach, and Eastbay has risen.

The group has been introducing new designs and has stepped up marketing efforts, especially in North America, with recent participation in the Palm Beach International Boat Show.

In 2021, Grand Banks Yachts announced the formation of GB Marine Group, along with sister brands Palm Beach Motor Yachts and Eastbay Yachts. 

These efforts have helped Grand Banks Yachts to lift the net order book to SG$178m (US$131.7m) as of 31 March 2023.