Polish boatbuilder launches new model, eyes European export markets

Polish boatbuilder Craft Yachts Poland has introduced its second motoryacht, the Baltica 780 Weekend, and plans to expand its international foothold beyond the German, Italian, Polish and Slovenian markets in which it sells its boats. At the same time, the business aims to secure customers for yachts with electric engines, according to senior company representatives. Wojciech Sikorski, chief executive and owner of TMP Group Poland, the boatbuilder’s parent company, told IBI that the boatbuilder is making efforts to secure new customers from various European markets.

“Our first motoryacht, Baltica 660 Weekend, allowed us to enter this fast-growing market in Poland. We have introduced a second boat, Baltica 780 Weekend, and now we’re exporting our boats to Italy, where we have a distributor, and we have also signed deals to sell our yachts in Slovenia,” he said.

In 2019, Craft Yachts Poland established cooperation with a German dealer, Greifswald-based AGusto Boote. Craft Yachts Poland operates its shipyard in Niestkowo, a municipality located in the country’s Pomerania region, on the Polish Baltic coast.

“We started to produce our boats at that shipyard in 2018,” according to the chief executive.

Craft Yachts Poland is focused on selling its two motoryachts fitted with outboard motors supplied by Mercury Marine, but the two craft with lengths of 6.6m (21.6ft) and 7.8m (25.6ft), respectively. This said, with more environmentally aware customers in mind, the Polish company also offers yachts fitted with electric engines.

“To grow our business, we want to enter new foreign markets, and part of our plan is to get our prospective customers interested in our electric yachts,” the chief executive said.

In the Polish market, the company has supplied electric yachts to charter firms in Warmia-Masuria, a popular destination for the country’s seafarers which offers around 2,000 lakes. Over the course of a season, it is estimated that the region’s lakes attract between 30,000 and 40,000 seafarers per day. In addition to this, Craft Yachts Poland makes small sailing boats, and also produces yachts for other companies. The boatbuilder’s shipyard accepts orders for refits, adaptation and yacht repair works.

Asked whether his company was considering expanding the facility’s production capacities, Sikorski confirms that Craft Yachts Poland has such plans, and is aiming to add further craft to its product portfolio. However, these plans rely on the future success of Craft Yachts Poland’s export-oriented plans, according to the chief executive.

“We want to increase our workforce at the shipyard and increase its production capabilities, but this will depend on the volume of our orders this year,” he said.

Craft Yachts Poland is a member of local industry association Polboat, which claims to represent companies responsible for some 70% of the country’s boat output. Data from Polboat indicates that Poland’s yacht sector specialises in motorboats from 6m-11m (20ft-36ft), and depends on foreign sales for an estimated 90%-95% of its production. Some of the main export destinations of the country’s boatbuilding industry include Western Europe, the Middle East and the US.

Source: IBI News