Transmission of the Tricat shipyard
Founded in 2003, Tricat builds folding trimarans in Brittany and has built up a solid reputation in the field. After more than 20 years at the helm, founder Antoine Houdet has decided to hand over the reins of the company, which employs 12 people and generates sales of ?1.5 million. François-Xavier Tillier, familiar with the sector and the company, explains the background: "I've known the shipyard for 6 years, as a supplier, and Antoine and I have become friends. With my company Deptron, based in Crouesty, we equip trimarans with electronics. Knowing that I'd already taken over companies, Antoine jokingly told me a few years ago that I could take over the yard, and it finally became serious a year ago. I used to work in industry, and I wanted to return to a company that was more industrial than my electronics company, with industrialization and slightly longer production cycles. The Tricats are boats that appeal to me."
a 2-year mentoring period is planned to ensure a smooth handover of the shipyard. François-Xavier Tillier, supported by workshop manager Julien Maillet, will give Antoine Houdet the opportunity to continue working on boat design and business development before he leaves.
Creating a sound industrial base
While ambitions to develop production and sales are clearly on the agenda, François-Xavier Tillier identifies the organization of manufacturing as a priority task: "There's of course the idea of developing the brand in France, then abroad, and industrializing more on our scale, producing larger units in greater numbers in the future, but the first step is to improve the production tool. My first focus is to ensure that we have the right boat-building foundations, tried-and-tested processes and more industrial steering tools. We have the room to move forward with the space to double or even triple production at Plescop in the future."
A new trimaran model is expected by 2025, to be announced in April 2024.
