Miami show underlines Dutch builder's strong growth

In mid-February, Vanquish Yachts of the Netherlands opened a second US office – in Pompano Beach, Florida – then went to the nearby Miami Yacht Show to flaunt its fast-growing and diversifying portfolio of luxury aluminium motor cruisers and yachts.

“We attended the Miami Yacht show because it brings in the high-profile clients we seek,” Vanquish founder Tom Steentjes told IBI at the show. In the past two years, he sold a dozen super-fast Vanquish Yachts in Florida alone.

“We are enjoying significant growth and need space to store spare parts and other materiel. At Pompano Beach, we have berths for clients. And it is the base of our service operations.”

Barely six years’ old, Vanquish has already built 40 luxury motor craft of up to 58ft that all do at least 40kt. Longer models can have engines achieving 50kt-plus. Today, Vanquish not only plans to double production but also branch out into craft that stray far from the open-cockpit model.

In the spring, Vanquish will launch its first wheelhouse version of its VQ58 in Europe and the US. In the summer, it will introduce a VQ40 and VQ11 tender and in 2020, a 65 footer. Meanwhile, very unusual 72. and 78ft. projects are waiting in the wings.

The company recently opened an office in Sag Harbor, NY. It has 7 sales points across Europe, 2 in the USA and one each in Mexico, China and New Zealand. It will soon open a 2nd manufacturing hall in the Netherlands, said Steentjes.

Driving growth is the recent participation in Vanquish Yachts of TransEquity Network, a Dutch investor in small, profitable companies with international growth potential.

“The success of our yachts is the quality of our custom building,” says Steentjes.

“Also, we build boats of, say, 40 ft. in a matter of 6 months. We can build 6 at a time. Larger boats _ like the VQ 58 _ will take 8 to 10 months.” The new 58ft VQ is the largest at the moment but Vanquish Yachts is remains loyal to smaller ‘accessible’ composite models to broaden brand’s appeal. The Vanquish line starts at 16ft, a fast scooter-tender.