MULTI SHORTS
Catana 47 soon
Poncin yacht no
to launch
longer under the
protection of the
court.
On 29th May 2009, the La Rochelle Court of Commerce
decided to approve the development plan put forward by
Poncin Yachts and its subsidiary Harmony Yachts. This takes
place after a legal 1 year long procedure which started on
30th May 2008 in order to help Poncin implement major
restructuring as well as renegotiate its debts, mainly with the
banks, as a result of the downfall in sales of the Harmony
sailing yachts during the 2007/2008 season.
The Catana 47 in build when we visited in April
Under this agreement, the bank debt is considerably reduced
and is to be paid back over 7 years with the first two
installments being reduced in order to take into account of
The new CATANA 47 will be launched in Canet en
the probable difficulties of the nautical sector in the next two
Roussillon at the end of June 2009. It replaces the
years.
previous 46.
At the end of this 1 year legal procedure, the Group can now
This new model embodies the values which CATANA
look back on the results of the restructuring. The fact that
have been developing in the brand around the world:
restructuring took place well before the crisis really hit the
Comfort, Safety, Quality, Performance. The new 47 will be
nautical sector is now an asset for the firm.
worthy of its predecessor, the now legendary Catana 471.
The new line up of brands is based on the established
This year the shipyard celebrates its 25th birthday. Always
CATANA catamarans, LOCWIND sailing yachts, WHITE
seeking innovation, the CATANA teams put their passion
SHARK power boats and SEA HAWK ribs and reinforced
and their knowledge to work in search of the perfect
by the considerable effort made to renew these boat ranges
alliance of speed and large living space.
over the last 3 years.
The latest from the Mediterranean shipyard will be
The high tech factory in Marans in the Charente Maritime,
presented at the autumn boat shows in France and
once the Harmony range was stopped, is now building the
Europe.
new Catana 41 and the new high quality 16 meters Locwind
yacht; both models were shown at the Paris Boat Show last
More details from: www.catana.com
December.
The factory in Marans has also considerably reduced its
costs; staff is now 68 strong instead of 200 – no more
temporary work, short contracts, retirement replacements
and about 50 people were made redundant for economic
reasons.
Although Poncin is back in business it will now have to work
to win customer’s respect. It has some great brands in which
there has been considerable investment and, certainly in the
case of Catana, some excellent products with more to come
like the Catana 47, a much anticipated boat boat the size of
which has been the most popular in the Catana range.
More details from: www.poncinyachts.com
4  MULTIHULL REVIEW : JULY 2009
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