Quick Spa, founded in the early ‘80s, is one of the main companies specialized in the production of marine equipment, offering a diverse range of high-tech products from battery chargers, thrusters and docking systems to gyroscopic stabilizers, technical and decorative marine lighting, windlasses and anchoring systems for yachts of all types and sizes. Each of its product lines is designed, engineered and manufactured exclusively at its Italian headquarters in Ravenna, Italy.
Quick Spa has seen its consolidated turnover grow from €36 million in 2018 to €62 million in 2022. Italy and the USA, the Group’s two most important markets, saw an increase in revenue of 27% and 23% respectively in 2022 compared to the previous year. All the product lines have enjoyed rapid growth in sales in the last 12 months: windlasses +41%; lighting +22%; electronics 21%; and thrusters +26%. Sales of MC2 gyro stabilizers alone accounted for €11 million in 2022 registering a +252% growth compared to 2018.
These remarkable figures are in part symptomatic of a healthy marine sector in a post-Covid market, but they are also thanks to two important business actions that have set the company on a new trajectory in recent years. The first was in 2018 when CEO Michele Marzucco’s business partner and co-founder stepped aside. This opened the way for a new generation of entrepreneurs when his children, Chiara and Carlo, joined the company management as vice-presidents.
“The second took place in August last year when Fondo Italiano d'Investimento and Armònia signed an agreement for the acquisition of a majority 70 percent stake in the capital of Quick Spa,” says Chiara Marzucco, who is also Marketing Director. “The aim was to provide further impetus to the growth path already undertaken by the Group and increase development opportunities through an ambitious consolidation and acquisition program. This M&A project is very ambitious and aimed at enhancing the many Italian excellences in the sector. We believe consolidation is a means of improving customer service and becoming more competitive in a growing market with numerous development opportunities.”
Fundamental to the success of the brand is the fact that all its product engineering and manufacturing is done in-house at the 50,000-sqm production site in Ravenna.
“We have five internal divisions focused on developing our product ranges that are vertically integrated into the production process,” says Chiara Marzucco. “So, we have technical departments for electronic, mechanical, lighting, stabilization and a team of software developers. Keeping it all in-house means we’ve built up a lot of technological know-how over the years, allowing us to propose increasingly competitive solutions.”
By way of example, Marzucco points to the new MC² Seacentric System presented during METSTRADE 2022. The integrated system includes the Viator fin stabilizer, the Intercepta trim tab and the well-known Quick Gyro gyroscopic stabilizer, which work together to provide 360-degree motion control both at anchor and underway thanks to proprietary software that optimises the algorithms coordinating the single systems.
Equally crucial is that Quick Spa can provide its customers with a service network that guarantees worldwide support. In fact, in addition to international offices in Baltimore, USA, and Southampton, UK (both responsible for developing commercial activities), the group has more than 80 distributors and service points in 110 countries around the globe. It also organises frequent training programs for technical partners and dealers in order to ensure they stay up to date with the latest developments and maintenance procedures.
“Last but not least, we believe in environmental protection across all aspects of our business,” says Chiara Marzucco. “So we direct part of our investments into researching and developing resources to reduce waste while making our production processes cleaner and more efficient.”