Power
Masters to Watch: Sander Mars
After working in fishing and offshore for ten years, which often required him to be abroad and therefore did not see much of his family, Sander Mars decided to enter the luxury yacht building industry. He is now managing partner at Vanquish Yachts. MASTERS started the conversation: “Building customer wishes makes us unique and distinguishes us among the wealthiest in America. Our aluminum yachts, Dutch design and Dutch built, are the ultimate. Each aluminum Vanquish is uniquely customized and really something different.”
Photography John van Helvert
Comments Bart-Jan Brouwer
Heroes by Vanquish
“After ten years of working in fishing and offshore, which often required me to be abroad and therefore did not see much of my family, I decided to enter luxury yacht building. In 2007 I started with a colleague in the market, in 2020 I switched to Vanquish Yachts. My partner, founder Tom Steentjes, lives in America and is responsible for sales and innovation, I am responsible for the organization. My job was to do a scale-up, just like with my previous employer. That suits me, I'm a builder. When I started, eight people worked here, now the company has one hundred and fifty FTEs. And a turnover that has increased almost tenfold. That is a dream at the front that became reality. But it didn't come to us. Being successful starts with working hard and doing your trick every day. What has helped is, one, that in those thirteen previous years I have learned very well which exit to turn right and which to turn left. And, two, good employer practices to retain skilled people and suppliers who are willing to go the extra mile. We are a bottom-up organization, the staff is at the top: they are the 'heroes of Vanquish'. We place a strong emphasis on the customer and customer experience, which results in a close and powerful relationship between the customer and Vanquish. All Tom and I do is create the conditions for our heroes so that they can build this fantastic product. It's a cliché, but if you are good to your people, those people will be good to you. This way Tom could fully focus on sales: you need sales to grow. In the end I had to run very fast to keep up with the production. When I started, the turnover ratio between America and Europe was 80/20, now it is about 70/30 and we want to get to 60/40, partly from the point of view of risk spreading. Our yachts can be found in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, the New York area, and in Europe we are strong in the Balearic Islands and the South of France. We work with for the service dedicated partners. They do everything from cleaning and filling refrigerators to damage repairs and winter maintenance. Without service there would be no sales in this business.”
Not for everyone
“What sets Vanquish apart? First of all, the design: it is very modern. We always say: 'We are ahead of our time.' Secondly, the performance: our yachts have a very good underwater hull. Thirdly, the material: most of our fleet is built in aluminium. This offers a high degree of stiffness, which makes the sailing experience more pleasant. And, very importantly, aluminum lends itself to customization. We can customize not only the color and cushions, but complete layouts. If you build in composite, which most colleagues do, you are bound to the mold – which determines the shape. Building customer wishes makes us unique and distinguishes us among the wealthiest in America. Our aluminum yachts, Dutch design and Dutch built, are the ultimate. Each aluminum Vanquish is uniquely customized and really something different. Our slogan is therefore: 'not for everyone'. Building in composite has the advantage that the lead time is much shorter - you produce faster from a mold than if you have to build a boat from scratch. Because sales figures increased enormously, we have launched two composite lines - as a counterpart to our full-customized aluminum lines - the VQ40 and VQ55 Sports Line.”
Youngest superyacht builder in the world
“Last year we were at MASTERS EXPO for the first time. That's where people come with second homes in Ibiza, the Costa Blanca and the Côte d'Azur. We showed the Vanquish 45. We had it available and the fair was full: a larger model would not have fit. The reactions were very good. In fact, the boat was already sold on the first evening! The customer was attracted by the modern design in the color Bentley Alpine Green and the functionality of the boat: from the space on the deck - every Vanquish is a walk-around - to the safety thanks to, among other things, the all-round bulwark. We continue to innovate permanently to make a boat better. Our range is from 40 to 115 feet, 35 meters. The price starts at a million and goes up to tens of millions. We are currently building our third Vanquish 115 Veloce. With 8.000 hp, it is also a fast boat, approaching 50 knots. Everything over 24 meters is qualified as a superyacht, in which case you will have to deal with different regulations. As soon as we can sell a superyacht, we will take up the challenge. But we can move much faster with construction up to 24 meters, also in terms of yard and capacity. That will always be our core business. The fact that we can also build superyachts is good for our branding, especially in America. It is said that we are the youngest superyacht builder in the world: founded twelve years ago and already producing superyachts. At the other end of the spectrum, we also make an 11 and 16 foot tender. This has been Vanquish's best marketing move. These toys are based on the motorization of a jet ski and go up to 90 km/h. That went as far as China: everyone wanted to buy a VQ11 or VQ16. In terms of branding, this has given our company a mega boost. How do I see the next five years? Further innovate the existing portfolio and scale up from 32 boats to 60 boats per year. To make this possible, we added a new yard in Marknesse last March. In terms of growth, we look at Texas Lakes and LA. And Dubai: that's going through the roof at the moment.”
MASTERS Magazine
Every success starts with a dream. That is the leitmotif of the summer edition of MASTERS. As a little girl, Iris Hond dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. She had the talent, the discipline, the love for piano playing and the courage to pursue her dream. Even adversity did not deter her from her path. “Then I remembered the stories about the rough rock 'n' roll life that Jan Cremer told when he visited us: the pain, the misery – it's part of it”, she says in the major interview, with unique photography by Rahi Rezvani. Entrepreneur Harald Swinkels was also guided by a dream: first earn a lot of money, then make films. And so he sold his energy company and took the exit to Hollywood. Real estate entrepreneur Max Vorst uses his fortune to collect art. MASTERS received a private tour of the Beelden aan Zee museum, where part of his collection is currently on display. Dream trips are also being realized more and more often. “The need to invest in 'building memories together' is increasing," says Avila Reizen founder Tim van der Wel in an article about the future of travel. If only I had? If only I could? “I dream that I paint and then I paint what I dream,” said Vincent van Gogh. So, while leafing through the new magazine, dream of the Range Rover Sport SV, the Mulder ThirtySix or access to Ferrari's exclusive elite club Corse Clienti. MASTERS 58: a song to dream away to.
