Szczecinbiznes.pl: Your company is your life’s passion. What were the beginnings?

Andrzej Armiński: “It is true that the basis underlying the foundation of the yacht company: Projektowanie i Budowa Jachtów stems from my long-standing hobby, namely sailing. It is also a consequence of the professional career I follow – I have been designing yachts for years now, first as a student, then an employee of the Warski’s shipyard and finally as an employee of Szczecin University of Technology. At some point I concluded that I was not able to do anything else. First I designed and built yachts for my friends and for myself. Having sailed around the world I decided to settle inland and in 1998 I officially opened my own yacht yard. Initially, it was a modest workshop in Mierzyn, but in time, as more orders began to come in, I moved the company to the buildings at ul. Hryniewieckiego which previously housed Polska Żegluga Morska (dry bulk shipowner and ships' operator).

What sort of yachts are constructed in your yacht yard?

We build deep-sea yachts only, which distinguishes us from other Polish yacht building companies that mainly construct inland boats. We primarily build catamarans, among them our flagship Broadblue 385 model designed for cruise sailing which is fairly popular abroad. We also sell a larger, 12-meter catamaran called Format 400C that is ideal for fast sailing in the Mediterranean. We offer the Mantra series of small monohull yachts named after the first boats I owned. After Mantra 1, which was my first yacht, I sailed though the Atlantic Ocean in Mantra 2 and then, in 1990-ies I sailed round the world in Mantra 3. Following that we built a series of Mantra 7000 yachts which were quite popular in the Szczecin sailing circles and took part in yacht racings both in Poland and abroad. Later we launched a larger 8.5- meter Mantra and 9.5-meter racing yacht. It should be mentioned that we constructed a kayak for Aleksandr Doba who was the fourth person in the world to sail across the Atlantic – note that he used our product in the process.

Who are your main customers?

We mainly sell our yachts to foreigners. Our commercial affiliates originate from the countries where luxury is highly appreciated, such as Great Britain and Italy. From there our yachts are distributed further, among others to the United States, Dubai or Hong Kong. Many of our yachts sail in the Mediterranean sea.

Are your clients mostly individuals or intermediaries?

We cooperate with foreign distributors. Among our partners there are firms with well-established position and yachts are sold under their brand. Sometimes we cooperate and undertake projects jointly, sometimes we work for them on a commission basis. Some of our customers are individual sailors who order yachts from us from time to time. I am especially happy to fulfil such orders.

Do you make yachts to order or do you produce them in series?

Our production is serial, but many modifications are custom-made. We build yachts from scratch and we finish them in our plant down to the last detail, which is consistent with our philosophy of creating an original and finished product. We do not sell cheap labour in stead we provide products possessing unique characteristics and defined quality. This also makes us different from other Polish shipyards which generally perform laminate work whereas the finishing work is made somewhere else, for instance in Germany.

How long does it take to build such a yacht?

We can build a catamaran in little more than two months.

How much does it cost?

A well-equipped catamaran costs around EUR 250 thousand. Quite often our clients are retired and have grown-up children – they reach the stage when they are ready to live out their sailing dreams. At this price we can cater to their wishes and offer a yacht in which they can normally live.

How many of such yachts do you sell a year?

It varies. Several years ago we experienced a time of great boom - our company employed 75 people and we hardly managed to fill the orders. At present all yacht producing companies in Poland suffer a downturn, because the western countries moved into recession the demand for yachts plummeted. Some time ago we had ten yacht orders waiting to be filled, but now there is no waiting list, we produce yachts as the orders come in.

Where do you obtain the materials? 

When I started building yachts in the 1980-ies I practically had no access to proper materials. Carbon fibre as well as many basic materials and equipment had to be exported from abroad. Since our access to the EU and abolishment of customs barriers many materials can be found just across the border or even in Poland.

Where do you recruit your specialists?

Szczecin has ship-building traditions, so finding well-qualified employees is easy. When I launched my business many boat-builders I knew joined me. People grow old and go out of business, but I have managed to train a new generation. I currently employ three young engineers who have graduated from the faculty of Maritime Technology.

How about competition in the industry?

The catamaran industry is currently on the raise. More and more companies engage in production of yachts, especially in France where hundreds of yachts are built every year – this is where the main trends are set. Our major strength is that we both design and build our yachts. In addition, our products are inexpensive, they comply with high standards and our location in Szczecin is convenient. Considering all those factors, we believe we can be fairly optimistic about the future. Hopefully, we will soon build many yachts for Polish sailors. The obvious obstacle to achieve that is that the sailing season is short in Poland and the weather tends to be notoriously fickle. What is more, we have no sailing traditions – for instance it is unthinkable for a British government official not to own a yacht.

ŁP and mab