Damien Cailliau and Frédéric Blandin bought the shipyard he created in Lorient in 1999 from Sam Marsaudon in January 2018. The former, a majority shareholder, takes over the general management of the company, while the latter provides marketing and human resources management. Marsaudon Composites employs 50 people for a turnover of 5.5M euros on December 31, 2017.
You have just taken over Marsaudon Composites. Can you tell us about the path that led you to this takeover ?
Damien Cailliau: We both come from the seaside, but our professional lives had taken us away from it. As far as I am concerned, my taste for space had gradually overtaken my interest in the sea. I worked in space, at NASA and in European agencies, managing contracts, with technical and managerial aspects. Being a program manager is like running a small business. My specialty is mainly technical and production. At a certain point, I wanted to get closer to the sea. After meeting Frédéric through friends, we decided together to work on taking over a company by the sea.
Frédéric Blandin: For my part, I have always kept a link with the sea. I was born with sailboats in my backyard and I have family in the French Navy. I did the classic route from Optimist to JOD 35, then I ended up sailing only occasionally for pleasure, as my work took me to places where the sea was not next door. After many experiences in large international express transport companies as sales, marketing or human resources manager, I created my own consulting company for small and medium sized companies. That's where I met Damien.
How did the choice of Marsaudon Composites come about?
Damien Cailliau: Very quickly, in our discussions with Frédéric, the choice of taking over a shipyard in the nautical sector, and particularly in sailing, appeared to be natural. So we went fishing. The opportunity arose when Sam was thinking of selling his shipyard. There was a real human encounter with Sam and Marie. Adhering to his project, we decided to go ahead.
What will be Sam Marsaudon's role in the future?
Damien Cailliau: Sam is passing the helm, but he will continue to help us with the sailing! He will stay for at least a year to assist us and bring us his expertise in catamaran construction, his knowledge of the sector and his links with people in the industry. He will be a kind of associate consultant for a handover of skills, with common projects.
What are your projects for Marsaudon Composites?
Damien Cailliau: Sam Marsaudon has started a great story. Our goal is to continue it. He felt a little limited to carry the development of Marsaudon Composites. With our experience, we can do it. There is potential, in the capacity of the site, the teams and the market. Everything works well and we are more and more known.
First of all, our strategic line is to better inscribe the TS Catamarans brand in the landscape. We must be known and seen. Today our customers come to us through the informal network. We will review our commercial system to reach more people and expand geographically.
We are obviously continuing the white label boats and the production of composite parts and molds which are an essential aspect of the business model developed by Sam. It is a logical and relevant balance.
New boats in prospect?
Damien Cailliau: TS5 is starting very well with already 6 boats. We have to succeed in this launch as well as the one of TS3 which is approaching and continue the momentum of TS 42. After that, there are obviously projects, but it is not the priority.
