In praise of our client; “we couldn’t do it without them.”

In this second posting in the series “In Praise of our Client” we highlight one of the industry leaders in the leisure marine market.

The Catamaran Company is the worldwide leader in all aspects of the catamaran market. They specialize in the sale of new and used catamarans and, the chartering of catamarans worldwide. Since the 1990s we have been providing delivery services, quality control, new yacht commissioning and safety equipment. We have worked closely with the senior management to develop policies and reporting procedures that are considered the best in the industry.

From their website we learn, the group first began operations in 1989 trading corporately at that time as “Catamaran Charters and Sales”. The group was founded by and managed by Eric Paris Martel who I first met in Tortola  in my early years of yacht deliveries for Compass Yacht Services. In the early days of the business, the company focused solely on two main functions through two separate businesses, namely the sale of new and used catamarans (Catamaran Sales Inc.) from their Florida Sales Office in Ft Lauderdale and the provision of catamaran charter vacations (Catamaran Charters Ltd) from their charter base in Tortola, BVI.

Catamaran Sales Inc. (CSI) was the original importer and Distributor of “Privilege Catamarans” into the USA in 1989 and became the exclusive North American representative of Jeantot Marine, the manufacturer of Privilege in France. Over the following 10 years CSI grew to become the largest Privilege dealer in the world, representing sales of 25% of all the new catamarans that Privilege built.

In 1996 a new management team was brought in to advance the group to the next level, headed up by charter industry veterans Hugh Murray and Gisela Cuadros, the former President and Financial Director of Sunsail USA respectively.

In 1997, the company name was changed to “The Catamaran Company”. Marianne Doux-Laplace was promoted to Manager of all charter base operations, a position she retains to this day at her base in Tortola, BVI.

In 1998 The Catamaran Company was appointed the dealer for Lagoon Catamarans, a division of “Groupe Beneteau”, the world’s largest builder of sailing yachts, with a territory covering Florida and the Southern states. Lagoon at that time was the second largest catamaran builder in the world with around 25 dealers throughout the world. Within five years Lagoon had grown to become the largest catamaran builder in the world and The Catamaran Company had grown to become its largest worldwide dealer, a position held for most of the subsequent decade.

More recently, the Catamaran Company and its related businesses continues to be the world’s largest retailer of new catamarans, in addition to being the world’s largest retailer of used catamarans, achieving sales of over 100 used catamarans on an annualized basis over the last 10 years.

Future plans include a new division catering to larger catamarans due to the increase in that sector of the market. Less than 10 years ago a $1m catamaran sale was a quarterly event whereas today it happens monthly. There are more 50+ foot catamarans built each year than existed in total in 2003 and The Catamaran Company sells more of these larger catamarans than any other company in the world.

We are extremely proud to include the Catamaran Company amongst our valued clients and look forward to many years of working together.