Australia’s largest builder of aluminum boats, Quintrex, is now shipping trailer-able ‘tinnies’ by the container load to Russia.

Trevlynn Petzke, Quintrex’s Export Manager, said that the company had not sold into Russia before last year.

“Austrade’s Moscow-based Business Development Manager, Sergey Kask, alerted us that a customer in Russia might be interested in our range,” Mrs Petzke said.

“It took about eight months before we made our first sale, because we did not have a dealer in place in Russia. Austrade was vitally important here; they helped us through the process — and have continued to help us.”

Quintrex now has the Admiral Group as its Russian distributor of aluminium boats up to 7 metres.

Trevlynn Petzke said that exporting to Russia was much easier than the company had originally thought. “The quality of the goods has to be there, though.”

She said that the aluminium ‘tinnie’ used to be thought of as a boat with a ‘rough ride’. “No longer. With new advances in building techniques and the development of the ‘Millennium Hull’, the strength of these boats has improved immeasurably and the relatively light weight of the aluminium is such a bonus when you are towing.”

Quintrex trademarks in hull construction include a flared bow and a hull with v-strake pressing, ribs welded to the keel, and chine extensions.

“Our light-weight hulls are equivalent to a fibre-glass hull,” said Mrs Petzke.

Most of Quintrex’s Open Boats feature level flotation as standard. The bench seats are fitted with foam flotation to ensure the boat remains level and upright in calm conditions should it become swamped, and the solid keel is a single piece extrusion.

Mrs Petzke said that Quintrex’s website has proved to be an important selling tool internationally. “We export to 22 countries.”

Quintrex’s aluminium kit boats, shipped flat and packed up to 40 per container for local assembly in market, are currently sold to the UK, Canada, and Tahiti.