It's a minor sensation: a new shipyard is being built in Germany - and at one of the most important locations in the country in terms of boatbuilding history!
A small group of investors wants to restart in the former Dehler halls, which were once home to Germany's largest and most innovative shipyard until September 2012. The company is called SQ Freienohl, an abbreviation that was part of the Dehler model designations not so long ago.
SQ stands for "Speed and Quality" - what has always characterised the fast and cleanly manufactured boats from the Sauerland region. And it is probably also the programme for what is to come in the future.
The new brand will already be represented at boot Düsseldorf, with just a small information stand in Hall 16, but already with "initial ideas" that should give potential customers an idea of what will soon be developed in Freienohl. This was confirmed to YACHT by Bert Schattschneider, spokesman for the investor group.
Schattschneider is a successful entrepreneur with experience in industrial plastics construction. But he also has another important qualification: He is an enthusiastic Dehler owner himself. With his 39 "Take Five" he actually wanted to set off on a round the Atlantic this winter. "That will have to wait now," he says - the new start with SQ comes first.
The team he has signed up includes around 20 former Dehler boatbuilders who are working with SQ Yachts already operate a service company. "Their expertise," says Schattschneider, "is the real capital of the brand." He has appointed Yvonne Schlicke as Managing Director, who has decades of experience in the industry as Head of Sales at Hanseyachts and Dufour.
Another veteran of water sports is also indirectly involved in the new company: Michael "Schmiddel" Schmidt. The Hanse founder, who sold his company to the investor group Aurelius one and a half years ago, still owns the old shipyard halls in Freienohl. He has rented them to SQ since 2 January. They had been empty since the beginning of October 2012 after Hanseyachts relocated production from Dehler to Greifswald for economic reasons.
In the next issue of YACHT, you can read about the Dehler relocation, how Hanse intends to ensure the continuity of the brand at the new location, what role Karl Dehler plays in this and what characterises the latest model, the new Dehler 38. Issue 3/2013 will be available on newsstands from 16 January.
