Heesen Yachts on Thriving in the USA

By Rose-Hannah Lishman

We were pleased to seek shelter from the showers on the final day of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show on board the beautiful Heesen motor yacht Vida. Sitting down with Mark Cavendish and Thom Conboy, we caught up with the yard for the first time since the Monaco Yacht Show.

"I think 2017 was a strong year for Heesen as a company and certainly here..."  Thom Conboy explained, giving his opinion on the American Market as Heesen's Director of Sales for the region. He further touched on a noticeable downturn in 2018, remarking that political uncertainty could be behind this change.

However, Heesen is clearly still pushing ahead when it comes to the US market. Thom continued, "We've opened a new office here just across the bridge, we have a lot of boats here that we've never had before so people can truly see Heesen product [...] the biggest hurdle that any manufacturer has is being able to show what you build and the quality of what you build."

Indeed, the hard work seems to be paying off. Mark Cavendish, the yards' Sales and Marketing Director explained,"2019 has been an interesting year for us, we've sold - so far - three yachts this year!" Listing off exciting projects such as the 59m Project Skyfall which will travel at speeds of up to 37 knots and 67m Project Avanti which was designed in partnership with revered Winch Design, it's clear that the yard is overflowing with exciting new projects. He continued, "We have 13 yachts in build at the moment so plenty of work for us!"

Is this a sign that the shipyard is attempting to build bigger? Just before the Fort Lauderdale Show, Heesen had announced a 1200gt Explorer Project however, Mark explained that the space at their shipyard presents restrictions on focusing solely on building larger yachts. 

Nevertheless, Marked closed, "In Holland we're the only shipyard building these 50-metre, 500-ton boats." And we can't wait to see what emerges from the shed next! In the meantime, you can watch the full video interview above. 

"2019 has been an interesting year for us, we've sold - so far - three yachts this year!"

Mark Cavendish, Heesen Sales and Marketing Director

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"2019 has been an interesting year for us, we've sold - so far - three yachts this year!"

Mark Cavendish, Heesen Sales and Marketing Director
By Rose-Hannah Lishman
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