luxury yachts from Poland Delphia Yachts

Wojciech Kot, Company co-owner

Delphia Yachts, headquartered in Warsaw, is the largest builder of luxury yachts in Poland, with a product range including yachts between 7 and 15 metres in length. The company has seen over 25 years of success, as Dariusz Balcerzyk reports.

The Delphia Yachts shipyard was founded in 1990 by two brothers, Piotr and Wojciech Kot. “It all started from our passion for sailing,” says company co-owner Wojciech Kot. “We’ve always loved sailing and once you have been bitten by the sailing bug, it will remain with you forever. Since we had a small carpentry workshop, where we maintained a yacht servicing business, we came up with the idea to run the yacht construction business. We were lucky enough to manage to persuade the legendary Polish yacht designer, Mr Andrzej Skrzat, to cooperate with us. This fruitful cooperation has continued up to now.”

Initially, the company made only boats dedicated to inland waters, such as the Sportina 680 and Sportina 600 series. However, it soon made the next step forward and introduced a range of models perfect for seas and oceans, Delphia and Escape. It also built a boatyard in Olecko, a town in the Masurian Lakeland in northern Poland. It is one of the largest boatyards in central eastern Europe.

In 1994 the company established a cooperation with Jeanneau, a French boatyard, which is a part of the Beneteau group. In 2012 it purchased prestigious Swedish brand Maxi Yachts.

After many years of developing a successful business, the Delphia brand has become known throughout the global sailing community for its build quality, innovative designs, comfort, durability and performance. It has received numerous awards, including the ‘Economy Award of the President of the Republic of Poland’ 2014 as well as distinctions and nominations such as the ‘European Yachts of the Year’ for Delphia 47.

“Some Delphia yacht owners have sailed around the world. For others, the sheer joy of being aboard a superior yacht is reason enough to be a part of the Delphia family. Great sailing, friendship and pride of ownership. This is the world of Delphia,” points out Mr Kot.

The world of Delphia

The company’s headquarters are in Warsaw, while its production facilities and branch office are in Olecko. The boatyard consists of assembly and auxiliary production plants (the carpentry shop hall and two assembly halls equipped with transport systems of heavy, bulky elements from which boats are assembled); a carpentry section, producing furniture for yachts and motor boats as well as other wooden elements; an assembly hall where sailing yachts from 8.0 to 16.0 m and largest motor boats are assembled; and a laminate hall, in which it makes laminates for decks, hulls and small elements made of polyester-glass laminate.

For almost 30 years Delphia has manufactured more than 25,000 vessels for oceangoing, seagoing and inland use. It has developed over 40 models. The company has extended its activities across the European markets as well as further afield to the USA and Canada, Russia, Japan and Australia. Nowadays 95 per cent of its total production is exported. Large motor boats, from 9 to 15 metres in length, enjoy the greatest popularity among the company’s foreign customers.

Delphia Yachts employs 750 people. Its annual sales in 2017 were estimated at PLN 140 million (more than €34 million). In 2017 it manufactured 300 sailboats and 1250 motorboats.

True yachts

The process of building a yacht is highly complex and requires specialised technical knowledge. Delphia has the know-how, experience and the advanced technology necessary to build yachts of the highest quality and comfort. By combining its experience and passion with the best modern technology, the company can present a range of boats of

truly unique character and style. Its yachts are designed by professional craftsmen using state-of-the-art computer software and high-tech equipment such as CNC.

Delphia Yachts uses wood and plastics to build the hull, deck and interior. Other materials comprise acid resistant steel and aluminium. Higher-end models employ the Laminate Infusion Method. The company has developed the YSI (Yacht Integrated Structure) technology, on which its top-end models are based, the reason for this being that a strong and light hull equates to safety and speed. Delphia Yachts has a longstanding relationship with the Ship Design and Research Centre where the boat prototypes are examined and tested.

The company has twice benefited from co-financing from the EU funds. Thanks to EU support, it has founded an R&D centre for the development of new materials technologies for the production of moulds as well as floating and flying units. In January 2018 it signed a contract for co-financing a project to develop polyester gel coats modified by nanomaterials. The main goal of the project is the launch of a new generation Delphia Nano Solution yacht, the world’s first yacht to use gel coats modified with nanomaterials.

Building a stronger future

On July 12, 2018, a preliminary agreement was signed to establish a joint venture between Delphia Yachts and the Ostroda Yacht shipyard belonging to the Beneteau Group. The new company will take over the business of designing, constructing and selling recreational boats under the brands of Delphia Yachts, Maxi Yachts and other brands (including the Beneteau group). Delphia Yachts will hold 20 per cent of shares of the new company.

“The main goal of establishing a capital relationship between these two companies is to provide them with further dynamic growth resulting from the strategic plans of the Beneteau Group and Delphia. It will provide Delphia Yachts and its sales representatives with further stable growth, will increase job security and will give even greater opportunities to its employees,” ensures Mr Kot. Next, a promising new chapter in the history of Delphia Yachts will begin.

For more information, visit: https://pl.delphiayachts.eu/