Despite a parceling of marine business to the Far East, the British commercial and naval marine construction base has fought to maintain an edge in certain niches. VT Halmatic has been one of the more progressive and aggressive British companies in maintaining a strong hold on commercial and military marine business, with the production of some outstanding boats for pilot, patrol, marine security and naval operations. Noting the 60 to 70 percent of the company's production is for export, Sebastian Freeman, commercial controller, said, "that's how we survive." While the client list is diverse, VT Halmatic's "bread and butter" is the pilot and workboat markets, and despite the fact that the majority of is boats are sent abroad, the Royal Navy is still its biggest customer for RIBs.
