Australian cruiser manufacturer Maritimo finishes 2014 on a high note

by Maritimo on 3 Dec 2014 Increased brand awareness and sales internationally and the release of a number of new models, with instant sales success, have been the highlights of the year for luxury Australian cruiser manufacturer Maritimo.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary the company's founder, Australian boating industry icon Bill Barry-Cotter, said conditions in international markets had continued to show improvement during the year.

He said the launch of the new M65 cruising motoryacht this month and its public debut due in May next year should set the scene for another solid year for the company in 2015.

'America and Europe have been strong performers for us in 2014 and with five of the M65s sold before the first one hit the water we are confident that conditions will continue to improve in 2015,' he said.

'The falling Australian dollar will assist and if the Australian economy can gather momentum post the mining boom we may see conditions here gather momentum.'

Maritimo's sales and marketing manager, Greg Haines, said the 'hero boats' for Maritimo during 2014 had unquestionably been the M50 and M58 cruising motoryachts. He said improvements made to the original models had been extremely well received and had driven sales.

'The original M58 and M50's were both exceptional boats and remain so, but we have taken them to an even higher level with the generation two versions,' he said.

'At Fort Lauderdale recently we showed the boats to dealers from across the USA, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Panama and Venezuela and the response was very encouraging.

'They all love the full beam master suite and they all commented on the high quality of the finishes and fitout. ' We made a strategic decision more than two years ago to concentrate on performance and finishes and it has paid off handsomely.'
Mr Haines said during the year Maritimo had appointed five new brokers in Europe, had held discussions with prospective brokers in the UAE and appointed a broker in Holland.

He said Maritimo had formed a strategic partnership with Galati Yacht Sales (see separate story) in a company called Maritimo of The Americas with a significant distribution hub in Tampa Florida.

'Joe and his team will service the established dealer network that we have and with their USA wide presence and track record since 1970 we believe we will see increased numbers in that market next year.'

Mr Haines said on the home front the company was seeking to implement an apprenticeship training program and would be launching new models, in addition to the M65, with S48 and M48 cruising motoryachts both in the production pipeline and due to be launched in 2015.

'We have big things planned for Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show next year,' he said.