Catman

Since launching Bali Catamarans in 2014, Catana Group CEO Olivier Poncin has shaken up the world of cruising catamarans, building a brand that’s challenging the long-established leaders.

- John Higginson

What was your background in the industry before you created Bali Catamarans?

I’ve always been passionate about sailing boats. When I was young, all my holidays were spent on the water. A few years after completing my studies, in 1983, I had the opportunity with some friends to take over the Kirie shipyard in Les Sables d’Olonne, a magnificent port in the Vendée region on France’s west coast that became famous thanks to the Vendée Globe race.

Five years later, I bought the Dufour shipyard in La Rochelle, which I redeveloped, notably by creating the Nautitech range of catamarans. The turnover of the Dufour group increased by a factor of 50 in the space of 13 years, making it a major player in the market.

Poncin Yachts Group was born in 1988 and five years later we took over the Catana shipyard in Canet-en-Roussillon in the south of France. Specialising in high-performance catamarans for bluewater cruising, it was the undisputed leader in its niche, but had been in difficulty for several years. In 2013, I took the decision to create the Bali brand to have a new range built to appeal to a wider market. In 2014, we renamed Poncin Yachts Group as Catana Group.

Considering the cruising sailing catamaran market was well served by established builders like Lagoon, Fountaine Pajot, Leopard and Sunreef, why did you think there was ‘space’ in the market when you set up Bali?

Unlike the niche market in which Catana had evolved for 30 years, between its creation date in 1984 and 2014, the consumer cruising catamaran market is 10 times larger, now producing around 1,500 units per year.