COMPANY PROFILES 31 SF Marina


the company to design pontoons and breakwaters that provided the strength and durability to perform well under a wide range of difficult conditions from Tropical heat to Arctic ice, as well as challenges presented by storms, tides and constant exposure to salt water and ultra-violet light. In 1972, SF Marina was chosen as a supplier to the Summer Olympics and delivered pontoons used by six sailing classes at the event. This


G


othenburg-based SF Marina, with its main production facility located at Walllhamn on the West


Coast of Sweden, celebrated its centenary last year. The company’s heritage began with the construc- tion of Brandholmens shipyard in 1918 to specialise in concrete structures for use on water and


it was not long before floating concrete pontoons became the main product manufactured by the enterprise. A continuous programme of de-


velopment and innovation honed though experience shaped by in- stallations in Sweden, where harsh Winter conditions are a good test of marina infrastructure, enabled


Walcon Marine Ltd


The Walcon story began in the Summer of 1963 when a young Robin Walters started his own civil engineering company. He was award- ed his first contract in the marine industry two years later, when he was asked to install the first marina in the UK at Port Hamble. The marine side of the business


grew rapidly alongside the engineer- ing arm, with Robin’s invention of the concrete float a major breakthrough that put Walcon firmly on the map. In 1975, the firm was appointed to build and install Brighton Marina, for which it devised the Walifloat and System 21 pontoons, both successful designs that are still in use today. The late 70s through to the early 90s was a golden age for marina construction and Robin travelled the world securing orders across Europe, South Africa, the Caribbean, USA, Hong Kong, Australia and the Middle East.


By 1989, he was heading a success- ful and rapidly-growing marine busi- ness, installing over 100,000 marina berths in six continents around the


was followed by another ‘first’ in 1983, when it installed its first mari- na in the USA at Boston Yacht Club. Two years later, the compa-


ny moved to its new factory in Wallhamn from where pontoons weighing up to 250 tons can be loaded directly on to ships moored at a deep-water quay for delivery anywhere in the world. SF Marina info@sfmarina.com www.sfmarina.com


globe. Walcon has since maintained its position as one of the world’s top builders of yacht harbours with Rob- in’s son, James, becoming Managing Director in 1998, and has continued


to expand the options it provides to the marina industry through the acquisition of Docking Solutions Ltd, the Devon-based supplier of heavy-duty pontoons and commer-


cial-grade bridges, from its parent company in 2018. Walcon Marine Ltd sales@walconmarine.com www.walconmarine.com


DECEMBER 2019 • MARINA INDUSTRY • EURO-REPORT


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