Boatbuilder AMF Boats Wanganui is on the verge of signing a significant contract that will give it a foothold in lucrative overseas markets.
And Brian Collings, the company's owner, said securing the offshore deal would open the way for bigger premises and more staff.
The company's latest effort - for Todd Energy Rescue - was officially launched at New Plymouth on Saturday.
The 11.7-metre AMF aluminium boat is the 10th built by the company and another, smaller, version is being fabricated for Coastguard Manawatu and will be based at Foxton.
Mr Collings said this year had been "an awesome one" for his company, but the potential the offshore deal offered would ice the cake. "If we get it, it means building another five rescue vessels like the Taranaki one, and it will give us work for at least two years."
He said the company had shown it could do the work by being very good at what it specialised in.
"We can certainly build them to the quality expected and beyond," he said.
Mr Collings said the offshore buyers visited Wanganui to look at the company and the boats they were in the market for. "They had hunted the world looking for the right boatbuilder. We may not have had an edge in terms of contract price but they all said our workmanship was twice as good as what they had been able to source back in their country.
"When we had the surveyors check out the Taranaki boat, they remarked on the excellence of the workmanship. That speaks volumes of the craftsmen we've got in this city. They're highly skilled and take a real pride in what they do."
He said people underestimated the workers available in Wanganui, but he said if the offshore contract was sealed the company would be looking for bigger premises as well as increasing its workforce from the current five employees on the factory floor.
Mr Collings said it would also be good news for other local contractors his company used on its boatbuilding contracts.
AMF Boats had operated in Tauranga, and he maintained that base for four years after buying out the operation there.
However, he said the shift back to Wanganui was the best thing the company had done.
"It took us four years away to realise just what talent Wanganui can provide, and securing this contract would give us a real presence in overseas markets."
It took two years for volunteers from Coastguard Taranaki to raise the $1.3million needed to build the new vessel, and funds had reached the $900,000 mark when Todd Energy fronted with the rest of the money and agreed to sponsor the vessel.
It is powered by two 358kW Cummins diesels driving through Hamilton jets and has a top speed of nearly 70km/h.
Mr Collings said they maintained a steady 25 knots (46km/h) on the delivery voyage from Wanganui to New Plymouth.
He said the boat handled perfectly in sea trials off the Wanganui coast, and in very rough seas.
The vessel took seven months to build and was identical to a rescue vessel done for Napier.
"The boys who worked on these craft deserve a pat on the back.
"They worked really hard to get it out on time and were right behind the project from the start," Mr Collings said. The company was working on another Foxton-destined vessel.