International Boat Industry – June-July 2019

ibinews.com International Boat Industry | JUNE–JULY 2019 5

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SUNSEEKER

Andrea Frabetti, chief technical officer

at Sunseeker International, has taken the

role of CEO following the resignation of

Christian Marti. Prior to Sunseeker, Frabetti

spent over 25 years with the Ferretti Group.

KVH

KVH Industries Inc has named Ken Loke

vice president-Asia Pacific. Loke brings

extensive experience in satellite and

managed services to the new role, having

previously served as chief commercial officer

and CEO for Eutelsat-Asia Pacific, and senior

VP for General Electric Satellite for North

Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania

WHITE RIVER MARINE GROUP

White River Marine Group, the marine

manufacturing division of US retail giant

Bass Pro Shops, has confirmed that Zach

Kauk will succeed retiring president Les

Crawford on September 1. Kauk has more

than 30 years’ experience at Caterpillar Inc.

NMMA

Frank Hugelmeyer has replaced Thom Dammrich

as president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA)

in the US. Hugelmeyer joins the organisation from the RV Industry

Association (RVIA), where he has served as president since 2015. He takes

on the role in October.

TURQUOISE YACHTS

Mehmet Karabeyoglu, founder of Turkish superyacht builder Turquoise

Yachts, is relinquishing his post as CEO, with Patrik von Sydow taking

over the role. Von Sydow is a dual Swedish and British national with a

proven track record as CEO and MD of several international companies,

including Numarine and Danish Yachts.

MARATHON BOAT GROUP

Former Champion Boats COO David Porthouse has joined US

boatbuilder Marathon Boat Group as its new director of operations.

Porthouse will assume responsibility for production, quality, engineering,

new product design and plant management.

DOMETIC

Dometic has appointed Stefan Fristedt as its new chief financial officer.

Fristedt joins the Swedish equipment firm from Mölnlycke Healthcare,

where he served as executive VP and CFO. He will join Dometic on

October 1 and will be part of Dometic’s Group Management.

In

association

with

Zach Kauk

Ken Loke

Andrea Frabetti

Royal Huisman expands

NETHERLANDS Spring 2019 has
been a busy one for Dutch
yacht manufacturer Royal
Huisman, with the opening of
a new, second location on the
Amsterdam waterfront and
considerable progress made
toward completion of the fast
motoryacht Project Phi.
The company announced
it has obtained a new

production facility in the port

of Amsterdam, occupying the

former Holland Jachtbouw

shipyard which came under

Port ownership in mid-May.

This makes Royal Huisman

the second superyacht

manufacturer to join the port

community, following Feadship

Royal van Lent which opened

its facilities there in 2016.

 With the opening of a new location at the former Holland
Jachtbouw shipyard in the port of Amsterdam, Royal Huisman becomes
the second yacht builder with a Royal Warrant on the waterfront

UK Princess Yachts has released
record financial results for the
year ended December 31, 2018,
with operating profits nearly
trebling to £29.8m over the
previous year. The Plymouth-
based builder sold 270 boats
in 2018 (up from 230 in 2017),
boosting turnover by 24% to
£340m. The company reported
EBITDA (earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and
amortisation) of £32.8m, up
from £14.9m in 2017.
“I am really proud of what
the Princess team has achieved
in 2018. Their focus and
dedication enabled Princess
to build on the previous two
years of solid financial figures
and beat 2017’s record results,”
says Antony Sheriff, executive
chairman of Princess Yachts.

“The team launched six

stunning new luxury yachts

while growing revenues to over

one-third of a billion pounds.”

• The following highlights are
  listed in Princess’ year-end
  results:


• Record financial results of
  £340m turnover and £30m
  operating profit


• Forward orders worth £700m
  stretch through 2020


• Record employment of 3,
  employees, up 50% since 2016
  Following the
  announcement, Princess
  revealed that managing director
  Chris Gates has stepped down
  from his role after more than
  30 years at the helm. Gates
  is transitioning to a role as
  special advisor to executive
  chairman.

Princess Yachts

reports record year