Redefining the market

Industrial equipment and ancillary services, juggernauts of the French Marine sector, are showing signs of recovery. Key players who were able to restructure after the financial crisis are bucking the trend.

- Olivier Voituriez

Equipment manufacturing and ancillary services hold a substantial share of France’s overall marine market, as players in this sector generate turnover that is almost three times higher than that of the boatyards.

A 2014/15 report issued by French trade association FIN shows that turnover in the boatbuilding sector − factory-produced, artisanal and imports − was $955m and that equipment manufacturing recorded $527m in turnover. But ancillary services accounted for another $2.3bn. This sector includes commerce, refit and maintenance, which in all recorded $1.6bn in turnover for the period. The data also shows that architects, designers, brokers,insurers and skippers, and charter firms generated $268m in turnover. In light of these figures, the equipment sector is responsible for $2.8bn in turnover, which is ¾ of the turnover for the whole French nautical industry.

In addition, this sector employs over 26,000 professionals and it is certainly an area of the industry with growing strength and the flexibility to adapt to the climate arising from the economic crisis.

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