Gildas Le Masson, General Manager of Nautitech, talks to BoatIndustry about the catamaran builder's industrial and commercial strategy.
CMP, the German buyers of the Bavaria shipyard have announced the return of the Nautitech brand. What are the meaning and concrete consequences of this decision?
Nautitech has changed from a daughter company to a sister company of Bavaria Yachtbau in Germany. Formerly owned by the German shipyard, Nautitech is now directly owned by the holding company that also owns Bavaria Yachtbau. The company name is no longer Bavaria Catamarans, it is now Nautitech. This is a real recognition that there are 2 different identities. This is consistent with the keyword in Germany, which is simplification, with a return to the fundamentals and to what made the initial image of Bavaria. Nevertheless, we remain convinced that synergies exist, and not only in purchasing, but also in the sales network for example.
What about Nautitech's plan to increase its boat production capacity?
We built 75 catamarans in the last fiscal year, and we will not be able to exceed 100 boats produced on the current site. We therefore need to expand our production capacity. The shareholders want to give themselves the means to meet this need as quickly as possible, so as not to arrive after the battle. We know that the growth of multihulls will not last forever at this pace. With the Rochefort agglomeration community, the discussion is focused on a right of way on the commercial port. We are studying all the prerequisites: regulatory on the one hand with the risk prevention plan which is the subject of a public inquiry currently underway, technical on the other hand for the organization with the other actors of the commercial port, the construction of a building on soft ground and in a flood zone. We have an open attitude on this solution, but are also looking at others. We are aiming for a decision in the first quarter of 2019, with the desire to remain in Rochefort. We want to go fast and local to secure growth.
What about employment management at Nautitech?
We are in an employment area saturated with requests, where it is difficult to recruit employees. Today, 2/3 of our employees are from Rochefort and we want to stay there. It is important to ensure the loyalty of our employees. To do this, we are going to transform about thirty temporary positions into permanent contracts. We have 250 employees and we need to secure these people before recruiting others.
What is the strategy for the Nautitech catamaran range?
The range will grow with ongoing and future developments. The expansion of the offer will be in continuity with our architect Marc Lombard. This will involve revisiting existing models and creating new sizes, following the market trend.
