MB92 Group's Development Continues Apace

In anticipation of the next phase of their growth strategy and inspired by an increase in activity predicted from the delivery of two shiplifts – the 4,800t in Barcelona in a few months and the 4,000t in La Ciotat in 2022 – the MB92 Group announced today a series of structural changes. This follows the successful integration of Compositeworks and Blohm+Voss La Ciotat under the Group umbrella last year, and is another example of the continual investment being made to provide the very best service to their clients with the most advanced and efficient refit and repair solutions.

The main changes concern Henk Dreijer, current Commercial Director, who becomes Chief Business Development Officer of the MB92 Group, a role that brings him closer to the Group's CEO. In this new position, Henk will develop strategic operations for the Group with particular emphasis on sourcing significant refit projects. As part of this new organisation, Txema Rubio becomes the new Commercial Director. This position consolidates the quotations and commercial departments across the group, increasing efficiency and ultimately providing greater choice for clients when planning their refit. Txema brings a wealth of experience from his time spent in the projects department and, more recently, in his position as Quotations Director.

The creation of two additional departments dedicated to customer contracts and after-sales are already in place. These will be run by Mary Clara Batchelor and Paco Sanz, both of whom have been with the company for a number of years.

Henk Dreijer commented on these appointments: "This reorganisation is an important step in bringing a seamless service across both of our shipyards and will enable our customers to experience a more efficient quotation and planning process. I am very pleased with the team we have in place and look forward to being able to offer additional space on the new 4,800-tonne platform in Barcelona from this summer".

With a full year of activity following the acquisitions of Compositeworks at the end of 2017 and Blohm+Voss La Ciotat later last year, MB92 is observing the benefits of working as a Group. Turnover at both yards has seen a significant increase, particularly in France where, much to the satisfaction of the yachting community, the ENIM employment laws were overturned. As such, MB92 La Ciotat is currently operating at full capacity.

The range of yachts who visited last year has grown in average size, thanks in part to a number of new clients in the 100m+ bracket; this segment's occupancy rates increased by 25% in Barcelona last year.

For Pepe García-Aubert, President and CEO of the MB92 Group, "We are excited to see how well our hard work in combining the best of our two companies has been received by our clients. I am confident that this will be the platform for us to continue to improve. No one project is the same as another and can often represent major challenges for captains, managers and the shipyard. These challenges provide us with an opportunity to rethink our approach to refit and provide them with innovative solutions.

"I am very proud of the teams we have at both shipyards who have demonstrated an incredible level of professionalism and enthusiasm during this last year and I am keen to see what they can achieve as we move into this next phase in our development".

*Photo credit: Copyright MB92 Group