It is a Swedish home story. A plot that weaves boatbuilding skills, craftsmanship, national pride, shirt-sleeved entrepreneurship, good connections and, yes, some cash into a happy ending. In any case, it looks as if everything might turn out well for Najad after all.
It was finalised on Friday evening: the brand with the characteristic red stripe will be part of Nord West in the future. So far, they have only built motorboats. But firstly, particularly good ones, which in itself suits Najad. And secondly, founder and boss Benny Martinsson, 53, has a proven track record in the manufacture of sailing yachts. As a young man, he once trained with Christoph Rassy, who laminated and carpentered yachts with blue stripes a few kilometres away in Ellös. That was in the seventies. Martinsson stayed with Hallberg-Rassy for a good ten years before setting up his own company, Nord West. Now he can combine the two. As of today, Nord West is already finishing the first unfinished Najad from the bankruptcy estate - the entry-level model, a 355.
At the Hanseboot in Hamburg, the brand will be publicly present for the first time since the takeover - not at a joint stand as planned, but still. A Najad 440 will be on display.
In addition to Najad and its properties in Henan, Nord West has also acquired the brand rights to Maxi Yachts and Aphrodite, as deputy managing director Jessica Stenlund told YACHT online. Only the almost new GRP production in the Swedish hinterland was not part of the deal. "We will carry out the plastic work at our own plant in Lysekil," said Stenlund. "The capacities are sufficient for both sails and motorboats, the distances are shorter and the facilities are state of the art." Finishing is also carried out at one location: at the Nord-West shipyard in Vindön. Benny Martinsson hopes this will lead to rationalisation effects and consistently high quality.
The rights to Maxi Yachts are to be sold. There are interested parties, as the insolvency proceedings have shown.
The harbour and Najad's former warehouses go to two businessmen from Orust, Claes Samuelsson, a former Najad employee, and Bertil Karlsson, a building contractor and investor from the peninsula, who sometimes turns up to bank appointments in wellies and a flannel shirt. Rustic, but so attached to his homeland that nobody doubts the seriousness of his commitment. The two want to build a service centre for Najad, including 16,000 square metres of heated winter storage.
If everything goes according to plan, Nord West wants to produce 30 to 40 Najad next year, or even more if possible. It is unclear whether they will still be sold via dealers, as has been the case to date. Nord West mainly sells directly to owners and delivers all boats directly to Vindön. It also remains to be seen whether the entire model range from 35 to 57 feet will continue to be produced. At least the newer yachts will probably remain in the programme in any case.
