Marine businesses share their market highs, lows and the outlook for 2025
Reflecting on the past 12 months and what 2025 has to offer, MIN sat down with several marine businesses to hear their woes, their highs and their hopes for the next 12 months.
The new year offers the opportunity for marine businesses to diversify, to look at new markets and to innovate says MIN’s panel of predictors for 2025. Common themes emerged: looking at expansion into commercial (steadier) markets, product innovations and seizing opportunities.
Berit Hansen, managing director, Daniamant | safety equipment
“This year [2024] was a good year, safety systems have picked up. The shows we’ve been attending have been quite good, although Metstrade was a bit slow.
“Some of our products cross over to leisure and we saw a tough year, through our distributors, in leisure.
“We’re looking hard at 2025. Due to the corona year (2020) it will be a tougher year because of the five-year replacement rule [fewer will need replacing]. And, we didn’t see much new legislation in 2024. That normally drives the commercial market. This year we’ve also seen drive to focus on our environmental footprint. We are now measuring product – like lifejackets – for CO2. We need to demonstrate actively reducing our footprint. Whether that will shift purchasing patterns to more European companies we’re not sure. But slowly ESG regulations will have an affect on all of us.”
Cécile Marcy, managing director, Dismarina | distribution
Marcy spent half 2024’s business year in France, which she says was quite slow, whereas the last six months in Spain were “nice, smooth and easy”.
She says there are opportunities in both countries that “have to be grabbed. Like web business – a very good trend. Online shopping is really good for clients of Plastimo [Dismarina’s parent company] and Dismarina. The web is ever growing, as opposed to the rest of market.
“Famous brands are what sell the most, but these brands have the knowledge of how to be visible online. For me that’s the big trend.
“Generally, the Spanish market is hit a little bit later,” she says of a sluggish 2024 for some, noting that France was hit “quite severely”.
“Italy, Spain and Greece have been preserved . . . last year was still good compared to the rest. The market will keep being tough, but this is the moment to show you are dynamic and agile and can seize opportunities. You have to be thinking ahead.”
Danny Tao, CEO, ePropulsion | electric propulsion
“We are still quite positive about the electric market. But 2024 was tough for a lot of customers.”
Tao says: “More and more OEMs are looking for what we offer,” and that the company’s commercial presence is gaining.
“For the first ten years [after launch] we were 100 per cent leisure. Two years ago, we started working with commercial boats. Last year we set up two business units: leisure and commercial. We’re now looking at much bigger projects, 40m ferries and 20m work boats and inland bulk carriers. We see the trend of commercial boats in Asia booming for electric and hybrid types.”
Andrew Scott, managing director, Marine Components International | distributor
“We specialise in import, warehousing, distribution, sales and technical support as a leading supplier to the marine industry.
“Generally the people we are trying to reach remains unchanged but as the nature of their business changes we must adapt to make sure our message gets through.
“The biggest change we are seeing is that end users (boat owners) aren’t making the decisions as often as they used to. It’s the shipyards that are making the decisions, as fewer end users (boat owners) are carrying out the maintenance on their boats themselves. In addition some marinas and yards are limiting access to independent marine engineers, ensuring their employed engineers or approved third party engineers take on the required work. So we are adapting how we market certain products in our range such as Dr.Shrink, Groco and Lasdrop to make sure we continue to show the market what’s readily available.”
Axel Hoppenhaus, CEO, Nomen Products | flush cleats
“Business and industry seems to be dropping a little bit. That’s what we hear and what we are going through. We have some new orders, which make me optimistic it will go up again. But I really don’t know what kind of future will come in.
“We had some dropped orders from boatbuilders in 2024. They had produced too many boats and they don’t need material because of that, because they weren’t getting rid of the old boats. They can’t sell their last productions so they don’t order new equipment.
“I’m not depressed, but it’s not too funny. My hope is that business will improve and that the world situation, international and industrial, will be solved.”
Elisa Mangani, business development, Ronstan | marine equipment
“2024 was a special year, as we became part of Wichard Group in 2023. This has been a good step forward because we now work in a much bigger company and we are developing new products. Two years ago, we launched the aluminium orbit winch, it’s a bit of gamechanger for us, and is an innovative product in market.”
Mangani says Ronstan will bring a lot of new products, and new people, to the marine industry in 2025.
“So despite a bit of difference since 2022 – in the overall market being a little lower – from here [Metstrade] it looks fine. There is still a lot to do, but we are emerging with more energy.
“It is interesting to think about AI. In marine you need to physically go sailing, so AI is something we use more and more for production.”
Grant Fox, marketing manager, Scanstrut | commercial, navigations and personal electronics
“2024 was particularly good because of groundwork we actioned in 2023. That was to do with stellar hires into the business – mainly Americans with an understanding of their market and what was going on and what products to bring in at this time. That was really key.
“We’re bringing out ten to 15 products a year to add to ranges and that adds to the customer base. We’re strategic on what we pick, about the tech people will be using on their boats in two years’ time.”
Fox says the number of products on boats – via OEMs – is rising even though the number of production boats has decreased.
2025 will continue to see Scanstrut bring products to market as it moves into a fifth product category.
“We are now very naturally moving into the RV sector. We will find new customers organically as we reposition slightly into more of an outdoor business. It makes sense because of our portfolio and because the RV market has very price conscious customers, but they are still looking for the same things… which is reliability, and easy to fit. The route to market is via distributors and dealers and then the customer, so there are a lot of parallels that this can cross over.”
Daniel Henderson, managing director, Sea Sure | stainless steel parts for marine use
“We had a dead level year in 2024. The retail side is bloody tough. Retail is going to continue to be tough in 2025 and, unfortunately, I think we’re going to see the guys that were probably on the edge of going pre-covid – and who were saved by covid because marine went mad – fall. Covid only saved them for a few years.”
Sea Sure works with the UK Ministry of Defence and other navies and air forces around the world. It makes stainless steel rings and the buckles used on parachutes (and for people leaning out of helicopters).
“They come to the marine industry looking for the quality,” says Henderson. “That’s what separates us from our Chinese friends – the quality. We make the best stainless steel ring that there are. It’s key not to have all your eggs in the marine leisure basket.”
Dave Manasseh, European sales manager, Shakespeare Marine | antennae
“2024 was a tough year in Europe. The biggest difference was that I was ringing people instead of them ringing me. The economy in the UK and Europe has been difficult. No one wants to spend cash into keeping stock. It’s been more of an ‘in demand’ and less of a stock setup.
“That said, we finished the year above the 2023 overall, but it was a hard graft to get there.
“I think the market will come back [2025] with growth and confidence.”
Manasseh is expecting big things for its latest light up antennae in the USA. It’s a world first he explains. “Everything else is lit up on boats,” he says.
“All the speakers and underwater and so we’ve made the antennae light up. Technically it’s very difficult to do, so has been done with fibre optics. It’s the only one in the world and have had lots of enquiries about it in US.” He’s also expecting it to be a hit in Asia where 2024 was a record year.
Marius Torjusen, CCO, Sleipner | stabilisers and thrusters
“Our 2024 remained quite good and at the same level as last year, which I believe is good in current climate.”
Torjusen says that it’s very hard to predict the market for marine businesses and OEMs at the moment. “It might have to get worse before it gets better. But it won’t get a lot worse. My guess is that the market as a whole will start growing any time very soon.
“It might be relatively soft until September and then change, depending how the boat shows go in the autumn. But that’s a wild guess. If I knew that, I’d be betting on the stock market not standing here selling stabilisers!”
Hermione Barfield TeamO’s marketing manager | lifejackets
“It was pretty poor at the tail end of 2024 for the wider market. It’s been challenging. We live in hope that things will get better. . . that the industry builds and is receptive to new safety products and replacement of old.”
TeamO obviously now has its DAME award to leverage. It was the overall winner of the 2024 DAME Design Awards with its Offshore 150N Hi-Lift Lifejacket & Harness. Barfield calls this “a mighty springboard” into 2025. “It’s massive. The award builds the brand and we have to build off the back of it in terms of who we are and what we stand for.”
Leave a Reply