TREMBLE, OUTBOARDS! VOLVO PENTA BECOMES MAJORITY OWNER OF SEVEN MARINE

Marine engine manufacturer Volvo Penta has become the majority shareholder of Seven Marine, the manufacturer of the most powerful marine engines currently available in the market. The announcement has literally upset the market since, with this acquisition, Volvo Penta definitively enters the outboard motor segment for the first time by shaking up the forces at play.

The announcement has been published on the companies’ official websites these days while Volvo America President Ron Huibers has become the new chairman of Seven Marine. Whereas on one hand it proves the willingness of the Swedish company to keep a close eye on the acquired company, on the other hand, the reconfirmation of Rick Davis as Seven Marine President suggests the desire to provide continuity to the product.

The deal will, in fact, enable both companies to work together and maximize their strengths.

Volvo Penta is a world leading supplier of marine and industrial motors. According to the agreement, it will offer its experience along with a network of 3,500 dealers, spread in over 130 different countries in the world. Active in the development of both diesel and gasoline engines, ranging from 10 up to 900 Hp, the company will develop the most powerful models of the range.

Seven Marine indeed produces the most powerful outboard models in the world, running at 557 and 627 hp. We already wrote an article about the amazing Seven Marine 8V 627 Hp outboard exhibited at Düsseldorf Boat Show in January 2016: one among the products the audience of the German event liked the most.

However, in order to get a better understanding of the dynamic and possible consequences of this acquisition, we’ve interviewed Nicola Pomi, Volvo Penta Sales Manager for the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese market.

” This is a very important step for us. With this acquisition, Volvo Penta enters the outboard motor segment. This certainly enables us to acquire a strategic position in the market since it creates a synergy between Volvo Penta and Seven Marine’s products. The latter will be integrated in our system thanks to our platform with the consequent advantage of enlarging our range”, said Nicola Pomi.

Although acquired by Volvo Penta, Seven Marine has decided to maintain its internal organization. Why this choice? Which novelties will be introduced and with what advantages?

” Yes, it’s true. We’ve decided to maintain Seven Marine’s internal organization in line with the policy of our company. The new chairman will be Volvo America President Ron Huibers, supported by Seven Marine CEO and President Rick Davis. This way, management is always the same in order to provide continuity to the product. They are specialists of the sector and we don’t want to change their work. Anyway, they can benefit from the same advantages than Volvo Penta through software development and a common platform. Furthermore, we’ll offer them our dealers.

The agreement therefore confirms your Easy Boating philosophy. What about your next steps?

” You’re true! Easy boating policy continues to be pursued even after this acquisition. We are planning new strategies for the future with the primary objective to create a synergy between our company and those we’re going to take over. Our strategy is to combine products with boat system. All future novelties will follow this direction and we’ll focus only on embeddable companies”.

What are the main novelties of the shipyard for the 2017-2018 season? Which boat shows will Volvo Penta products join?

” We’ll join Cannes Yachting Festival next September to present many new products. The main novelties concern new models wthin the yacht line. We’ll display many boats up to 60 feet in length. Most of them use GPS technology and envisage multiple installations: often double, but also triple or quadruple. Our Italina dealer will join the next Genoa Boat Show, too, but we won’t be present at Montecarlo Boat Show.