Dr. Jouko Huju

Baltic Yachts of Finland is a market leader in sustainable super yachts.  For Baltic Yachts sustainability is not just verbiage. It means thorough and complicated research and knowledge about rapidly changing customer requirements. And profound concern about the environment.

 

JH: How would you describe the business you are in?

AK: Our industry, and us, we are in the difficult business of delivering dreams.

 

These dreams they vary in size, form and investment. Yet the sea is the same for all, whether experiencing it from a kayak or a superyacht.

 

For us a superyacht is a product that exists for one main reason. That reason is to put a smile on the face of the owner. Every boat, or yacht represents freedom. Freedom from speed limits and various land-based restrictions.

 

But not everybody’s idea of freedom is a superyacht.  In my country, Finland, the dream boat is a small aluminum outboard powerboat. And by the way, Finland has the highest boat density in the world.  Every 5^th Finn owns a boat.

 

JH: Let’s talk about Baltic Yachts and sustainability first in terms of history!

AK: To truly understand our approach to sustainability we need to go to way back in history. For hundreds of years, we in Finland have built ships mainly for export markets.  It all started from frigates in the 16^th century. This heritage meant that we had the boatbuilding skills passed on through generations. Much later, in 1973 a few young men relit the torch and started building sailing boats again. And they had a particular philosophy in mind.  The boats needed to be lighter, stiffer and faster.

 

In 50 years, Baltic Yachts has evolved from a humble local boatbuilder to become a leading global builder of sustainable superyachts. Globally, superyacht dreams are changing shape. Sustainability has become paramount.

 

The fundamental idea and decades of experience with  light construction gave Baltic Yachts the basics to create sustainable superyachts as a lighter boat need less energy to move.  Today I can subsequently claim, that we are world leaders in sustainable advanced custom carbon composite superyachts.

 

Our philosophy too has evolved. We still build lighter, stiffer and faster yachts.  We have added one dimension though. The boats are also greener.   Together with our customers we have been able to create sustainable solutions. Sustainability for us is managing and myopically focusing on multiple small details all combined creating a big impact.

 

JH: Could you explain in basic terms the sustainability principles at Baltic Yachts?

AK: Our customers represent 0,003% of the global population but as they control 13% of global assets, their actions matter, also in terms of leading the way as these customers in many cases are thought leaders in their own right.

 

For sustainability there is no single silver bullet. There are no simple solutions to complex problems, despite what politicians may tell you. Sustainability for us broadly falls into three categories;

 

one – reduce the environmental footprint of our production – and use more organic materials

two – minimize the total lifecycle emissions of our products while under way

three – reduce the total lifecycle emissions of our products when at standstill

 

Reducing the environmental footprint of production is a continuous challenge. The key here is to measure your impact. Baltic Yachts has been measuring sustainability impacts since 2014.  Over the last 5 years we have finally got the hang of it.  We now track 30 parameters and convert them to CO 2 equivalents annually. In 2018 we had 1400 metric tons of CO2 equivalents. By 2020 we had reduced this to 400.

 

This represents a 2/3 reduction in build time environmental footprint and all this without any significant investments. Organic materials further reduce the environmental load.  Let’s take a few examples:

• Cork replaces teak in decking
• Flax replaces carbon fibre in hull and structures – like on our recently launched 68 Café Racer where we have 50% flax in hull, deck and structures

The quantum leap, however, is yet to come. We are researching recycled carbon fibre which I predict will be a game changer.

 

What really matters though, given the longevity of our products, are lifecycle emissions.

 

I would again give two examples where we are market leaders;

 

Both Baltic 142 (S/Y Canova) and Baltic 117 (S/Y Perseverance) feature electric propulsion with hydrogeneration. Both can cross the Atlantic without burning a single drop of fossil fuel, thus saving hundreds of litres of diesel over a single crossing. This means several cubic meters of fossil fuel saved over a typical full season. Hydrogeneration makes minimal emissions under sail possible. The freewheeling propulsion drive unit is used for generating power to the battery bank.

 

On S/Y Canova and S/Y Perseverance 14 knots of speed means 15-20kW of generated power making both yachts self- sufficient while sailing. There are other benefits to electric propulsion as well.

 

Namely silence: S/Y Perseverance features 42 dB in the owner’s cabin.

 

Motoring under full throttle: batteries also give us 8- 10 hours of silent period at night. An electrical main engine also gives us much more volume inside the boat in premium social areas as the engine room typically is much smaller on a hybrid yacht. Where we still have work to do is in reducing emissions while at standstill.

 

On a recent launch, 60 sqm of solar panels allow a couple of hours of time off for generators on a sunny day. The advice here is to sail more, spend less time in ports. Well, drinking cold champagne in port is nice, so we need to work harder as an industry on reducing standstill emissions.

 

The fact of customers demanding sustainable solutions remains and the technologies are available. For once the morally right thing to do is also best for your business and future market shares.

 

For Baltic Yachts lifespan means a lot. The first ever built Baltic, the 46 foot S/Y Queen Anne, from 1974, returned to our yard for her first ever refit. For us the future is bright green.

 

www.balticyachts.fi

Anders Kurtén, CEO (anders.kurten@balticyachts.fi)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

Dr Jouko Huju, GMBA Finland
Tel: +358 40 5509310
Email: jouko.huju@gmba.blue

---

 

Disclaimer: Global Marine Business Advisors is a registered legal entity and is a network of independent marine industry advisors. In all articles the opinions expressed are those of the author and does not necessarily reflect those of GMBA.

To begin with it is important to understand that above all a board membership means responsibility, not power. The board is the guardian of the organisation’s mission and it needs to make sure that the organisation lives up to its mission and appraises its performance.  The board members should internalize the feeling of responsibility rather than that of power.

 

Motivation of people still happens through Pavlovian carrot-and stick incentives.  2500 years ago, the city of Athens gave its citizens a direct voice and an active role in civic governance.  The city rose to an unprecedented political and economic power. The system succeeded in bringing individual initiative and common cause into harmony.  Some may claim that the Athenian model does not provide a simple set of prescriptions for modern managers.  It does, however, offer a window into how sizeable groups of people can successfully govern themselves with dignity and trust and without resorting into a stifling bureaucracy. Being able to contribute to the success of an organisation/company or a whole industry is seen as the most important reason for a board memberships.

 

The ethics of work motivation theory are important because motivational efforts can exert control over individual moral autonomy. Among other things, motivation usually involves the manipulation of values that motivate individuals to work for organizational ends.  In other words, factors that individual workers regard as valuable need to be channelled or redirected to augment organizational productivity.  The phenomenon behind high level of motivation is the sense of responsibility.

 

The ethical issue regarding the motivation for work concerns the moral status of the worker (board member). Is he or she an instrument for organizational ends and/or an end in himself or herself? On the former view, the worker’s values are important to management only insofar as they can be channelled in productive ways. For example, an individual who is driven by material wealth can be motivated to produce more of what the organization wants him or her to produce with pay-for-performance incentives, whereas another individual to whom recognition is important may be enticed when he or she is offered an impressive title and opportunities for greater managerial responsibility. On this view, the worker’s values are not important because they are individually valuable; they are important because they are organizationally valuable.

 

The concept of motivation is invariably linked with the notion of reinforcement or reward. It has been noted in the literature that rewards can come from sources external to the organisation as well as from within. The value and impact of variables like autonomy, satisfaction, the feeling of being in control, and making meaningful contributions, can all come from within, and may serve as powerful reinforcement or rewards for an individual, making him or her sustain the motivated level of work performance. Recognition is considered a reward which comes with successful contribution and active participation to the work.

 

Motivation can also come from the fact that board members receive an opportunity to serve an organization they believe in, a chance to learn new skills, an opportunity to be with people that share the same values, and the opportunity to forge strong personal and professional connections. In return, they offer the organisation their time, skills, knowledge, and commitment. Burnout and lack of direction, however, can lead to a lack of productivity, a misalignment of board actions and board member values, and general dissatisfaction on the board. For the health of the organisation, it is critical to create an environment that fosters and maintains a high level of board member motivation and accountability.

 

There are several strategies that can be used to maintain and even increase commitment and performance and thus increase motivation:

• When building a board, align the interests and expectations of board members with the organization. Understand their interest and motivation in serving, and be sure that they understand the challenges and requirements of board service.
• Show appreciation often, in both formal and informal ways. Recognition of board members encourages commitment and high-performance.
• Involve board members in areas where they feel they can use their skills and knowledge and add real value. Make training opportunities available to increase their skills and knowledge.
• Institute an annual board self-evaluation program that allows members to step back and reflect on their own performance as well as that of the group. This can provide feedback on performance and help develop corrective actions.
• Develop individual accountability contracts. Use these contracts to determine strategies for holding board members accountable for attendance, contribution of expertise, willingness to make constructive comments during meetings, etc.

Just a few though to start a thinking process.

 

Dr Jouko Huju, GMBA Finland
Tel: +358 40 5509310
Email: jouko.huju@gmba.blue

---

 

Disclaimer: Global Marine Business Advisors and its associated website www.gmba.blue are not registered legal entities. GMBA is a network of independent marine industry advisors. In all articles the opinions expressed are those of the author and does not necessarily reflect those of GMBA

“He who makes a trip has a story to tell” is a quote from the German poet Matthias Claudius (1740 – 1815). In today’s business world we call them trade missions, study tours or maybe fact finding trips.

The competition in the boating industry (or any industry for that matter) between various brands, products or services is fierce. The consumers can easily inform themselves over the whole offer of the industry in a matter of hours.  The competition though, that our industry should fear more, are other hobbies and activities. Be it caravans, motor homes, motorcycles, golf or travel, to mention a few.  The need for home renovation or a new car can delay a boat purchase.  We need to present the lifestyle too.

Although the marine industry competes against each other we should also be able to develop some sections together.  The better, more innovative and practical our products are, the better the services and maintenance and the easier the whole chain of a consumer’s boating experience is, the better chances we all have to succeed in increasing the number of boat enthusiasts.

Intercultural, open exchange of ideas and methods can be very productive. Should we close our doors to competition or should we let them in, see and hear what they think?   I think we should be more open. That is what the Finns have been doing for a very long time.

Since the 1970’s the Finnish industry has been travelling the world.  Well, even earlier because the first Finnish joint stand was at the Paris Boat Show in 1946.   We have been to all continents, numerous countries and visited together over 250 boat factories, marinas, equipment producers and associations.  We have been given the chance to learn about production technology, marketing, dealer networks and advocacy to name a few.  This all has been a very eye-opening experience.  Sometimes we learn and can apply new things, sometimes we find out that we do things better ourselves.  But all in all, it raises the bar and helps companies understand what the consumers around the world wish to have and where we stand ourselves.

In January 2022, during the worst pandemic of modern times, 16 people from the Finnish marine industry visited eight producers in Florida.   We had agreed on safety precautions and proceedings.  Full vaccinations, negative tests, full time mask wearing were the requirements.  And by the way, no one contracted the virus.

The demand for production boats at this very moment may be the highest through history.  We have to be able to ensure that the production is flawless and ensure that we are in control of the supply chain, which we are unfortunately not able to do at the moment. The companies know what is needed but there are things beyond their control.

The companies that we saw produce thousands of boats. The biggest number we heard for one company was 15.000 boats!!!  Their turnover was bigger than that of the whole Finnish marine business.  Economics of scale are interesting (and sometimes even frightening) to see.

But we saw a lot, we made notes, discussed and the delegation members returned home rich with ideas. Was the trip worth the time spent (a week)?  Absolutely. The next trip is already in the planning.

I am encouraging all to travel even more. Send your people to boat shows and events.  Even people that normally do not travel. It can be very productive.

Dr Jouko Huju DBA, GMBA-Finland
+358 40 5509310
jouko.huju@gmba.blue

---

Disclaimer: Global Marine Business Advisors and its associated website www.gmba.blue are not registered legal entities. GMBA is a network of independent marine industry advisors. In all articles the opinions expressed are those of the author and does not necessarily reflect those of GMBA

The proper use of information made available by media and various organizations depends on the ability to understand the information needs, where to find and retrieve it and the proper evaluation of the quality of the accessed information.

Media and other information providers play a central role in knowledge gathering processes of the companies also in the marine and boating industries. They are a way of communicating information, although the role is somewhat broader than just that. The media, especially trade media, are defined, in most cases anyway, as sources of credible and current information created by journalistic and accountable values. On the other hand, the extremely wide and diverse selection of information and content, especially on the Internet, varies greatly in accuracy, reliability, and thus in value too.

In my view it is of utmost importance though, that you will not take the retrieved data at face value. All data is subject to misinterpretations. To begin with you need to ask yourself, why the data was required in the first place?

Let’s talk about why data is important for the boating industry too.

1. Data=knowledge

Correctly retrieved and interpreted data provides usually indisputable facts. Data will help you justify your arguments.

2. Results

You will need the data to follow and carry out your company’s strategy.

3. Solutions

Possessing the correct data will enable you to more easily assess the cause of problems.

4. Internal advocacy

Illustrating arguments through the use of data will allow you to demonstrate why changes are needed

5. Efficiency

Effective data collection and analysis will allow you to direct resources.

6. Know where you are

Good data allows you to establish benchmarks and goals because it allows you to measure.

To sum up for what purposes the data is needed:

• Finding new customers
• Increasing customer retention
• Improving customer service
• Better management of marketing efforts
• Tracking social media interaction
• Predicting salestrends

GMBA Australia’s MaryAnne Edwards says: “The boating industry is bombarded with information from a huge number of sources. There are many on-line newsletters that simply regurgitate press releases and in some very little journalistic work to verify facts is undertaken.  However, these newsletters do provide information as a basis for further research if it triggers an interest for a particular business. There are also industry surveys produced by various sources that are often skewed as businesses do not want or do not have time to be completing questionnaires, providing financial or sales data for these surveys.  I would always caution companies to take the information they read and then take steps to verify it if they are using it for business decision making.”

Countries often have in market reports on their government websites and generally these are not too bad as governments often have access to data media do not.

The big question is how people in the industry filter all this information and decide what is valuable and based on actual facts.  Also, do businesses have a good understanding of what information they even need to drive their business successfully.

So, in my view, when you read the news, think where it came from, who wrote it, could the writer really have had access to the data and has he/she interpreted it correctly.

I would say that in general the trade press in the boating industry is very reliable and the writers make sure to double-check the information. They then form, with their archives, an important and wide based source of information for strategic planning of the marine industry.

I would still urge everyone to have an open mind and not take anything for granted.

Dr Jouko Huju DBA, GMBA-Finland
+358 40 5509310
jouko.huju@gmba.blue

---

Disclaimer: Global Marine Business Advisors and its associated website www.gmba.blue are not registered legal entities. GMBA is a network of independent marine industry advisors. In all articles the opinions expressed are those of the author and does not necessarily reflect those of GMBA

Who is responsible for being vocal about improving boating related services?

The economic impact of boating is huge.  Cities, communities and governments earn in form of taxes and other income.  In my view the question is, if those who earn are investing back to improve boating related services.  The Island Council, appointed by the Finnish Government, commissioned a study (2021) to find out what the real impacts in the economy and employment are.  It is good to remember that Finland has the highest per capita boat density in the world with over a million boats (5,5 mill inhabitants) and a season on max 5 months.  The question is if the industry and boaters are vocal enough to demand better services in return?

The overall findings show that the growing popularity of boating creates a total income of over 400 mill. € in terms of direct spending of boaters. This income employs directly over 2500 people and indirectly another 3800 people. In this country those are big numbers. The biggest shares of spending go to fuel, restaurant services, service/maintenance purchases and groceries.  The boaters from their side wish better waste collection and recycling points, places to empty septic tanks, places to get drinking water and fuel stations.  Fuel is a big problem in Finland’s vast archipelago.  The season is short and all kinds of safety regulations are becoming more stringent. The study shows that boaters want to be responsible and they wish to ensure that boating is environmentally sustainable from all angles.  The newest generation of boaters are busy people and they want to spend their time on water just boating.  They wish to be able to buy most services and not spend time maintaining the boat or worrying about winter storage or engine service.

Boat sales are soaring in most boating countries around the world.  Some say even with production boats the whole production of 2022 is booked. Companies report double turnovers and huge demand. The production at the moment is concentrating on its own problems of delivering what has been sold.  This is only natural. Who is then responsible for making noise about boating related services out on the water?  You might say that it is the boaters themselves.  And the related organizations.  In many countries though, you would need a joint voice of the boaters, the industry and the respective organizations. I also believe this topic should be covered by the media more than it is now.

The pandemic has been a major reason for the increased sales. In many cases the new boaters may expect that boating related services are just as good as e.g. with cars. There may be some disappointments. I am sure there are many working groups and committees dealing with these matters as we speak. The road maybe slow but for a sustainable growth in the number of boaters, one septic tank emptying place, one more recycling station or waste deposit place already make a huge difference. In the North European waters finding fuel stations starts to determine your routes.  To improve any of these a co-operation between private entrepreneurs and regional/national authorities is needed.  In my country a lot of good people already work on these issues.

The question is if the improvements can be done quickly enough to ensure that we can keep all those new boaters we now have.

Dr Jouko Huju DBA, GMBA-Finland
+358 40 5509310
jouko.huju@gmba.blue

---

Disclaimer: Global Marine Business Advisors and its associated website www.gmba.blue are not registered legal entities. GMBA is a network of independent marine industry advisors. In all articles the opinions expressed are those of the author and does not necessarily reflect those of GMBA