RS Boats relocates assembly line, expands team

RS Electric Boats is relocating its assembly line to larger premises and expanding its team to fulfil orders and meet demand.

The company says orders are coming in at pace for the Pulse 63 electric RIB, which launched over a year ago, with the firm seeing “exponential growth” as a result.

The Pulse 63, billed as the ‘world’s first RIB with a fully integrated electric drive’, can run at speeds of up to 23 knots and has a range of up to 100 nautical miles.

Production on the Pulse 63 has now begun and over 50 electric RIBs are expected to roll out of the shed during 2022. 

To meet demand, RS Electric Boats is relocating its production line from its sister company’s workshop at RS Sailing HQ in Romsey to MDL’s Hamble Point Marina. 

“With both companies growing rapidly, the current facility is at capacity, so the new unit will provide the extra space required to build the boats at a faster rate,” a company spokesperson says. “The location also offers quick and easy access to the Solent for sea trials and customer demonstrations.”  

RS Electric Boats is also expanding its team in line with the growth. Recently appointed senior project manager, Rob Hopper, has been brought onboard to oversee production, while new jobs in technical design, production, and sales will be open for applications imminently.   

“We’re very excited to have started production of our Pulse 63 electric RIB and look forward to setting up an efficient assembly line in our new workshop,” says Jon Partridge, commercial CEO for RS Electric Boats. “We’ve been inundated with enquiries about the Pulse 63 from all over the world, including marine-based organisations, sailing schools, superyacht captains and leisure boaters, and expect to see our first customer handovers happen very soon. With the new premises and a larger team, we’ll have the capacity to help even more people switch to electric and enjoy playing and working on the water in a more environmentally friendly way.“