Bertram’s New Home

Bigger, Better and still in Florida

Bertram’s new home is in a neighborhood close to Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County, Fla. A small off-road sign reading “Merritt Island, where Dreams are Launched” points the way. A few miles down the road are a couple of familiar banners: “Bertram, feel the ride, live the legend.” There is a flag waving in the wind from a newly installed pole, a freshly blacktopped parking lot and, past a symbolic security gate, a modern building with a temporary sign. A new street sign reads “Bertram Way.”

Bertram, after a half-century in Miami, has found a new home on a small peninsula off the Florida’s Space Coast. By the end of fall 2012, Bertram will have moved all boat manufacturing to this facility, which boat manufacturer Sea Ray built 10 years ago but never really used. Bertram’s new home includes two large hangars with plenty of width and height to accommodate the company’s current manufacturing needs. It will easily accommodate construction of its flagship, the luxurious Bertram 800, and has ample room for expansion with 37 partially wooded waterfront acres. Bertram’s new home has convenient access to both the Intracoastal Waterway and the ocean and is only 45 minutes away from Orlando International Airport. An attractive marina, steps away from the office building and sheds, boasts plenty of slips to accommodate new boats.

Bertram threw a party in May 2012 to celebrate this new chapter in its storied history, but the move was hardly a surprise. The company had long outgrown its original facility, and nearby Miami International Airport was increasingly encroaching on its neighbors. Rumors flared for months, but moving a manufacturing facility is not an easy task. The company’s management took the time it needed to find the right location, looking at more than 30 sites from Virginia Beach to Florida. Bertram President Alton Herndon says the company started discussing the move four years ago and really became serious about it two years ago, at the same time that the company launched its new flagship. A big leap forward in terms of size and amenities, this luxurious 800 had to be built partially outside at Bertram’s original location near Miami International Airport. It was complicated and expensive to launch on the land-locked facility.

Offsetting some of the relocation cost, Bertram received financial assistance from Florida Space Coast’s Economic Development Commission (EDC). The organization welcomed the company and the jobs it will bring to the area.

For more information, visit bertram.com