Mengi Yay, one of Turkey's leading yacht manufacturers, has turned its eyes to the production of boats over 50 meters after the successful projects it has signed. The company, which has made a name for itself with the yachts it has delivered recently and has gained serious momentum, has started preparations for the construction of a boat over 60 meters, taking into account the demands of its customers. The project is expected to be launched next year.
Mengi Yay Yachting, which started its yachting adventure in Ayvansaray in 1964, draws attention with its successful projects. The shipyard, which made a name for itself with the Virtus project delivered last year and the Sea Star project delivered in the second quarter of this year, is currently continuing the production of two more hulls at full speed. Mengi Yay Yachting, which manufactures motor yachts, superyachts, sailing yachts, gulets and trawlers, has won international awards with its 27-meter Seleda, 45-meter Aquarius and 44-meter Virtus motor yachts. Having proven itself in the production of yachts under 50 meters, the company has now started to work on the production of boats over 50 meters.
We talked to Hüseyin Mengi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mengi Yay Yachting, about the future plans of the company that contributes to the success of Turkey, which ranks in the top three in world yacht exports.
Your series Virtus, the first of which you delivered last year, has made a name for itself. Could you briefly tell us the story of the boat?
We decided to launch the Virtus project in 2017, at a time when the world public opinion had negative prejudices about our country. We were having difficulties in bringing our foreign customers to our country. For this reason, we decided that it would be better to promote the yacht at the Monaco and Miami fairs, where we could make a presentation to the customer. We met with many brokers on the subject. After several meetings, we established a partnership with a valuable investor who trusted us, and with the decision we took, we started preparations for the Virtus project. First of all, we collaborated with an Italian designer for interior and exterior design. Our initial goal was to present the boat to the sector at international fairs and sell it at the end of a high quality and high standards production process. However, during the manufacturing phase, we met with very serious buyers from America, Russia, Dubai, Lebanon, France and Palestine. When the boat was launched, our customer, who ranked second among these buyers, liked the boat and decided to buy the boat after a cruise. Our biggest regret was not being able to exhibit our boat at international fairs even though it was finished.
After Virtus, you delivered the 35-meter Sea Star to its buyer this year. Could you tell us about this yacht?
Sea Star is a boat whose adventure started in 2018. The project started when a domestic customer requested a boat for his family. In 2017, we were satisfied with our Italian designer, so we worked with the same designer for our Sea Star project. We delivered our boat in June, and our customer is extremely satisfied. We are proud to have successfully delivered both of our boats. One was a sports boat and the other a classic boat. Our customers who want semi-displacement prefer the Virtus model and those who want speed prefer the Sea Star model.
As a country, we rank in the top five in yacht exports every year. What can be done to improve this success? What do you think are our pros and cons compared to European manufacturers?
We are currently ranked third in one category and fourth in another category in the world in terms of grotons and length. We have the potential to do better in terms of both experience and capacity. I think our main problem is the lack of determination of yacht specialization areas and facilities. If we as a country are to become a yacht brand in the world, our facility standards need to be high. Both the Chamber of Shipping, the Shipbuilding Industrialists' Association, and the Ship, Yacht and Services Exporters' Association are making efforts for our yacht manufacturing shipyards to be together in a separate place, but we have not yet reached a conclusion. We are demanding from the state a suitable place where we can establish facilities; we want to establish facilities in this field ourselves. Our boats are of high quality, we have the know-how, but when we bring our customers to our facilities, we want to host them in a quality and world-class environment. Therefore, the way for us to carry our success further is to improve our facilities, which is our biggest shortcoming compared to our European competitors. The best example in this regard is the Antalya Free Zone in our country. I think that clusters similar to the Antalya Free Zone should increase, and that we will carry our success further with facilities with adequate infrastructure.
Do you think Turkish shipyards are preferred because they are successful in customized products?
Yes, this is an important factor. We are quite successful in this area. Also, we have quicker feedbacks. When you reach the 10 percent level in the production of the boat, some changes may be requested by the customers, as a result, the customer's ideas change and these changes are reflected in the figures. The costs of this are different abroad, different in Turkey... Another reason for preference may be the quick reaction to customer demands. When a customer makes a request, we respond as soon as possible. As Turkish shipyards, we have an understanding that puts customer preferences above all else, and this may be one of the reasons why they prefer us. We have some minor problems in finishing in order to increase our brand value, but we are moving forward every day. I think we are very good at manufacturing customized boats.
We have shipyards that have taken important steps in mass production as well as customized yachts. Is the Virtus model a mass production model for you?
Yes, that is how we started and that is how we continue. We will continue in this way as long as the IMO rules do not change. If the rules change, the size of the boat may change, but not the type. When we first started the project, the length was 43.70 meters, but the rules changed and we went up to 47.50 meters. If the rules change again, we can change the length accordingly. It took twenty-six months for the first hull to be built with the project process, we have now reduced the completion process of the hulls to twenty-two months. Currently, the manufacturing process of two hulls is ongoing.
What is your annual production capacity? How many meters in length can you manufacture boats?
There were times when we delivered eight boats in a season, but I don't think that's right. In terms of finishes, I believe that this number should not exceed four per year. At the moment, we continue our activities with an average of two or three boats in terms of finishes. We are also in negotiations and as a result of these negotiations, we plan to stop this number at some point. As for the size, our know-how is below 500 grostons, that is, up to 50 meters. However, with our new friends joining us, our goal is to build bigger boats. We have no shortage of capacity; you can find the space, the important thing is to have the know-how. We have a 60-meter boat project that we have been negotiating for the last four months.
Can you give us information about Mengi Yay Yachting's sales network? In which countries are you present and to which countries do your sales mainly take place?
We have customers from Israel, Russia, Germany, Arab countries and America. Our customer profile is mainly from these countries. We do not have a sales office, we have sales agreements with foreign brokers. Apart from that, our customers find us by seeing and liking our products. We think the best advertisement is when a satisfied customer recommends us. In the past, changes were made to some items during the production process upon the guidance of the customer, but recently they prefer to work with a technical consultant before the project reaches the contract stage. The consultant can request various changes. This makes a great contribution to the Turkish yacht building industry in terms of quality.
As one of the most important yacht manufacturers in Turkey, how do you evaluate Turkish yacht designers? At what level do you see our designers?
I see our designers at a very advanced level. We need to introduce them to the world. Two boats we worked on with Turkish designers were awarded in 2015 and 2016. The customer looks at the name in design, and when they see names that have become brands in this field, their perspective is different. We offer three designers for customer-specific work; two of them are Turkish and one is foreign. Even when they push too hard, we always bring in a Turkish designer for interior or exterior design. I definitely think that our Turkish designers are also extremely successful.
Finally, what are your future plans and goals?
Our goal is to leave Turkish yachting a brand with high standard facilities and a corporate structure for future generations. And for this, we are slowly taking steps. In order to create that structure, we continue our work by appointing professional friends to the relevant departments and making good planning. We are also working to develop the next generation, to ensure that they gain experience in companies and structures that are among the best in the world. It is not possible to stand in front of future generations; when they grow up, we will continue on our way by advising them when they need it.
English