Maritimo shakes off COVID-19 pandemic with record orders

Last week, Maritimo unveiled the Maritimo M75, its largest build to date, but only the seventh in a line of eight new or significantly overhauled models it said it planned to introduce this year.

Anticipation is building for what will be the final model reveal for the year – likely to be for the S75, a sedan version of the flagship M75 unveiled last week.

Maritimo general manager Phil Candler said after a slow start, Maritimo’s year kicked off with the 2021 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show – the event was cancelled in 2020 as Australia struggled to cope with the growing COVID-19 pandemic – which was the most successful one yet for the brand.

“We then rolled on a lot of forward orders [for the newly launched Maritimo M55 and S55] from that and then the Fort Lauderdale boat show that we have recently had again was a record sales of that boat,” Candler said.

“We had a limited amount of boats there – the 55 M and S just had remarkable sales from that [show] rolling through into 2022, ’23 and ’24. 

“So across the board, the sales recorded for the M55, S55, M60, S60, M600 and S600 are certainly above our original expectation but just an outstanding result, right through from design, from concept, from customer feedback, right through into production, then out into sales, marketing.

“The overall product launches have been outstanding,” he said.

The rise in orders has resulted in a need for more skilled staff to build the boats, with Candler saying Maritimo had to roll out a significant recruitment drive to ensure it could meet its build deadlines.

“We've got a really good uptake of skilled staff across the board in different areas that we've been able to bring into the company, which is supporting our forward position,” he said.

Maritimo has even appointed a separate manager to run the newest part of its factory that will build the M75 – and any future larger boats that Maritimo may introduce if the market demand is there for them.

One of the surprises for Maritimo has been the apprenticeship program, with a number of apprentices changing trades just so they could work for the boat maker.

“We're getting great success with people who've been in industries coming across to us, and we recently put an initiative in that we're actually paying above award in our industry for apprentices,” Candler said. 

“The apprentices were very happy about that.”

However, the recruitment isn’t just limited to the workshop floor, with Candler revealing Maritimo was also building its research and development team.

“Obviously the development of the new boats is what's driving this,” Candler said.