Power
Masters to Watch: Erik van Veen, CEO Davinci Yachts
"Anyone who buys a Davinci yacht wants no fuss, just peace of mind. If something needs fixing, it gets fixed. Done. In winter you store your boat here, in spring you pick it up and everything is taken care of." MASTERS talks to Erik van Veen, CEO of Davinci Yachts.
“Anyone who buys a DaVinci yacht doesn't want any hassle peace of mind. If there is something, it needs to be resolved. Finished. In the winter you store your boat here, in the spring you pick it up and everything that needs to be done has been done." MASTERS talks to Erik van Veen, the CEO of Davinci Yachts. Text: Bart-Jan Brouwer
Online editing: Mical Joseph
Image: John van Helvert
Improvise
“As a child I played the guitar and would play in the retirement home on Sunday mornings. I often think back to that, because I was always improvising back then. Doing business as I do now is nothing more than improvising. Every day I deal with different people and switch gears. I eventually became the bassist for the rock band Monstertux. We played live on the radio, appeared at Parkpop and in Paradiso, we were the support act for Marillion seven times... It was a very good band, we were just all way too stubborn to really make anything of it. Besides, I had just become a father. I would come home from a performance at three or four o'clock at night, give the child a bottle, nap for an hour and go to work. The only person who can make a good living from it is the one who writes the songs. I never had the illusion or the ambition. I still play for fun in a rock band, Fools & Pretenders.”
Heeg
“In addition to playing the guitar, I did an entrepreneurial training for tourism and recreation. Twenty-five years ago, I ended up in a hostel in Heeg for an internship, which was full of German school groups every week. I guided them with canoeing, sailing, surfing... After three weeks, the person who organized the activities stopped, and the director said to me: 'You do it.' When another hostel was added, I was offered a permanent job. I loved it in Heeg: the freedom, the sailing... And when I met my current wife there, I was completely sold. After a few years I stopped working at the hostels and became a manager in a restaurant with a terrace and marina - there were always boats. The catering industry was incredibly fun to do, but it destroys your social life, your private life and your body. So I started looking for something different and responded to a vacancy for a yacht broker with a specialist in round and flat-bottomed yachts. That's where my career in the boat industry started.”
Train
“In my position as a yacht broker I learned everything about boats. I usually get a bit impatient after working somewhere for five years. That was also the case now. Exactly at that moment I was able to visit Prince of Orange, also in Heeg. Another five years later I thought: I'm going to start my own business. I knew the owner of DaVinci Yachts in Sneek and shared the following idea with him: bringing new boats and used boats closer together. Because if you have a nice range of used ships, people who come to them may also opt for a new ship. And they often already have another ship that needs to be sold again. I could do that nicely. Moreover, owner Steven Boersma mainly focused on new construction; he left the used boats behind for a while. I wanted to make money from that. That's how I started my own yacht brokerage in the DaVinci Yachts building. From the moment two people came to look for one used boat and left with both a new boat, the train started moving. In fact, we had so much success that we outgrew ourselves. Five years later I continued to grow by purchasing the building where we are now located in Heeg and taking over DaVinci Yachts. Steven continued with the sailing ship branch, Leonardo Yachts.”
peace of mind
“Here I could do what I really wanted and offer customers the complete package. Anyone who buys a DaVinci yacht doesn't want any hassle peace of mind. If there is something, it needs to be resolved. Finished. In the winter you store your boat here, in the spring you pick it up and everything that needs to be done has been done: from engine service to replacing a broken light and removing stains on the floor to a new flag. The concept is not new, but the way we do it is. We will arrange it and arrange it well. A DaVinci can be described as a retro-classical yacht that not only looks and is very comfortable, but can also easily reach 70 km/h like a rabbit out of a hat. This all-rounder is available in sizes 30, 32, 35 and 40 feet, in a price range from 3 to 7,5 tons. We call it a weekender, but you can also take it on the road for two or three weeks. The boats can be fully personalized. Our 35-footer, for example, is empty inside; In addition to the materials, you can also determine the layout yourself: a long or short kitchen, with or without a second bed, bathroom on the left or right... Everything is possible. That is the most unique thing: that we build semi-custom to this size. We have now built twenty-one 35-footers and they are all different. People really feel like they have built their own boat.”
Luxury
“We are currently working on the new 35-footer. We unveiled this at MASTERS EXPO in front of the owner. I have been the owner since 2015, so the 5-year pattern has been broken. I don't have to leave here, it is a great industry to work in and there is still plenty to do. The first application for a 45-footer has been submitted. And with the new 40-footer, the first of which will be released next year, we can also enter the international market more. We make about ten boats a year and I've never had the luxury of being able to say that next year I'll be completely booked into building. That is now the case: I am already working on 2023. And there is a waiting list for used boats. I could hire more people, produce more boats. But I want to maintain personal contact with the customer. If he or she calls here, he or she must get to me on the phone. As I have it now, I want to keep it for the time being.”
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