Ryk Goddard
A letter to myself where we invite significant Tasmanians to reflect on their life and their times. And it's a real honour to have Robert Clifford, founder and chairman of INCAT.
Bob Clifford
Clearly zero emission ships are the coming technology. I think there's at least a thousand small ferries needed, Sydney Harbour style ferries, and we are negotiating with various customers and that size vessel. But the English Channel size ships, there's another thousand of those ships needed in the near future.
Ryk Goddard
Will you have the resources to build that here in Tassie or will you need to start building elsewhere?
Bob Clifford
We intend to do it in Tasmania. We are expanding where we are now. We can probably double production where we are in Hobart. We are looking at other sites in Tasmania for doubling up again. So I can see every two or three years virtually doubling the production so that maybe in 10 years time, we have up to 10,000 workers. It's something quite large because really there's just so many ships to build. And we're going down the electric ship market and that looks like it's gonna be a huge market.
Ryk Goddard
This is Robert Clifford, a letter to myself.
Bob Clifford
If I had not been born in Battery Point and lived in the vicinity for 10 years, I would not have experienced the busy shipyards and slipways. If I had not moved to Hobart's Eastern Shore, I would not have gone to school each day for five years on the Bellerive Ferry. If I had not built a model of the Malcolm Campbell's Bluebird as a schoolboy, I might never have been interested in fast ships. If I had never been asked to go sailing on a Saturday morning, I might never have had a long life interest in sailing. If my job application to the Mercury had been successful, I might never have been taught how to build a business by the small print shop owner that I did work for. If I had never learned to operate a linotype keyboard, I would have found it much easier to use a QWERTY typewriter. If I had not gone crayfishing with my father, I might not have caught the private enterprise bug. If I had not built two ferry boats before the Tasman Bridge was knocked down, I would not have had the income or the experience to build three more ferries before the bridge was rebuilt. If I had never hired a British hovercraft, I might never have been convinced that customers want fast ships. If the USS Enterprise, a nuclear aircraft carrier, had not visited Hobart, I would not have sold 126 barrels of beer to thirsty sailors with all the profits going to build the first catamaran. If I had not sold all the ferries after the Tasman Bridge was restored, I would not have been able to pay off the overdraft. If Wally Tonkin had not ordered the first aluminium fast catamaran to serve Fitzroy Island, we would not have sold five more on the delivery voyage. If Jim Wallace had not ordered the first catamaran for Quicksilver, the Barrier Reef may not have become the million-dollar tourist industry it is today. If I had not experienced an uncomfortable ride back from the Barrier Reef one day, I might never have designed the first wave-piercing catamaran to smooth out the ride. If I had not demonstrated the wave-piercing at the Americas Cup in Perth, Western Australia, then sea containers may not have ordered the Hoversby Great Britain and four more other ships. If Seacat Tasmania had not been built for Bass Strait, then the eight sister ships may not have been built and the 50 more ships that followed. If Hoversby Great Britain had not won the Harris Trophy for the fastest ship across the Atlantic, then the South American company Bookabus would never have heard of it and been a customer for eight more ships. If Hull 50 had not been built to carry trucks, the military would not have been interested in carrying troops and tanks, et cetera. If the first 112-metre catamaran had not been successful, eight more of such ships would not have followed. Now, if electric catamarans are not successful in the marketplace, that would be a shame.
Ryk Goddard
Bob Clifford there, a letter to himself. So many sliding doors moments there where your life really could have been so different. What was the job at the Mercury?
Bob Clifford
I applied to be a compositor to learn how to set type, et cetera, and I failed to get that job. But where I did learn from a small business, I actually watched the operator of that small business. There were only two employees in the very beginning. And when I left, I was a senior employee with 16 people behind me.
Ryk Goddard
And you saw that growth. Did that give you some inspiration?
Bob Clifford
That was a big inspiration, yes. I saw a man build a business from nothing, and that was very much an inspiration.
