BREMERTON, Wash. — They make some of the fastest and most maneuverable machines on water.
"We basically build a tool that saves lives and protects this country every day," said Scott Peterson, co-founder of Safe Boats International.
Founded in 1997, Safe Boats is a leading name in rugged, reliable boats for law enforcement, the military and other emergency services.
"We started basically in a barn, in a garage two of us, and slowly but surely grew, " said Peterson. "Our purpose was to serve the men and women in uniform."
To date, the company has produced more than 2,800 boats that patrol the waters of more than 70 countries. And it all begins at its headquarters in Bremerton.
"We do everything at Safe Boats,” said Richard Schwarz, CEO of Safe Boats. “All of our boats are designed by our in-house engineering team, so they do all of the designs, produce all the documentation necessary for our production teams to actually build the boats. We bring in basically sheets of aluminum. We cut all of it, bend most of it. I always kind of compare it to an Ikea set. You basically get a pallet with all sorts of metal parts, and that pallet gets shipped out to our fabrication department. Then our welders take all of those components, and in a process that's kind of just magic to watch, they somehow manage to put together a boat."
Though each boat is built to order depending on need, the one thing they all have in common is the need for speed.
"We really don't do slow very well," said Peterson. "Our job is to get the men and women in uniform out to their job as fast as possible, whatever the conditions are, and then get them home safe to their family."
Safe Boats also has a location in Tacoma where they're working on a contract with the U.S. Navy to build 8 Mark VI patrol boats that will be used by the Ukraine Navy. These 85-foot-long boats can reach speeds beyond 40 knots and have a range in excess of 600 nautical miles.
Another unique aspect of Safe Boats is that the company is 100% employee-owned, with a large portion of its staff being former service members.
"Now 21% of our employees are veterans, and that's huge," said Schwarz. "For them who have chosen to join Safe Boats, because they get to continue to do something meaningful and important."
But no matter their background working at Safe Boats is more than just a job, they're trying to create a safer world - one boat at a time.
"When you realize you're part of something bigger than yourself, when you realize that you are doing something that makes a difference in not just our country, but our allies around the world," Peterson said.
Sponsored by Safe Boats International
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