The new Board of Directors of AENB.

During the last few months AENB went through the steps of the electoral process to form the new Board of Directors. Given that only one candidature was presented, fulfilling all the precepts of the statutes, this candidature was automatically chosen. Below you have the profiles of the persons who form the new team. They all have an extensive nautical trajectory and they are keen to continue fighting for the sector and for the benefit of all our associates. 

Chairman 

Margarita Dahlberg - DAHLBERG S.A. 

Career: A technician specialized in electronics, Administrator of Dahlberg S.A, together with her sister Rosa. Company founded by their father in 1961. After a generational change-over in 1984 the company became a market leader in its field, dedicating itself to supply, design, installation and technical service of nautical telecommunications and sanitary systems. President of the Association of the Balearic Nautical Enterprises from 1999, Secretary of FENIB and of CMIB. Hobbies: Passionate about the sea and watersports. Active member of various associations. 

1st Vice-chairman

Jaume Vaquer - JAUME VERMELL NAUTICA S.L. 

Career: Third generation director since 1993 of the company based in Porto Cristo that dedicates itself to new and second hand boat sales, consultation, after sales service and auxiliary services like preparation, wintering, maintenance, repair and restoration. 

2nd Vice-chairman 

Diane Franklin - E CUBED SYSTEMS S.L. 

Career: Double graduate in Business Studies and Spanish Filology from Leeds University Business School (BA Joint Honours). Marketing Manager at e3 Systems, a market leader in nautical electronics specialized in communication systems for superyachts. Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, EU Working Group, Board of AENB, Board of AEGY. Hobbies: Loves the sea, live-aboard on a 12 meter sailing yacht during 8 years. 

Treasurer 

Pedro Palou - INTELIGENCIA DE GESTION NAUTICA S.L. 

Career: Economy graduate from the University of the Balearic Islands and a Harbour Master from North West Kent College. Employed for 10 10 years in various positions in the Public Administration. Responsible of marketing of the Balearics Ports for 6 years. Director of his own company. Hobbies: Passionate about the sea and water sports. 

Secretary 

Tina Campins - NAUTICA ROSSELLO S.L. 

Career: Certified degree in Business studies at the University of the Balearic Islands with a specialty in Accounting and Finances. Various courses in business management and administration, finances, accounting, marketing and information technology. Representative, head of the administration, director, commercial, purchase, sales, accounting, human resources etc. of the family company founded in 1995, specialized in chandlery, storage, wintering and mechanics. Hobbies: active member of various associations 

Annual General Meeting 2013 – a participation success.

On the 21st of February the Annual General Meeting of AENB and the 6th edition of the nautical awards ceremony took place. Around hundred participants between associates, nautical entrepreneurs and the representatives of the Balearic Government turned up for the occasion. Náutica Rossello received the award for “The Most Oustanding Trajectory”, Metalnox for “The Longest Membership” and the Direction General of the Commerce and Business was recognized as “The Most Collaborating Public Entity in 2012”. 

Round of talks.

At 16.30 the rounds of talks started. On one side Carlos Sanlorenzo from ANEN outlined the spanish Law of Navigation and VAT related issues, while David Gomez went through with the english speaking members the principal challenges AENB faces in the future. The eagerly awaited ´Speed planning´by Pere Jiménez from IDI rounded up the talks. 

Letter from the President - March 2013.

Dear Associates, 

Just over a week ago the Annual General Meeting of AENB took place. It was a memorable event between great entrepreneurs and good friends. I think we should be proud that in the depths of the darkest crisis we are able to stay united. Our union was more than evident on the 21st of February and shows our strength in the face of adversity. 

As I mentioned in my speech, we are going on the fifth year of the worst crisis of our generation, a crisis that punishes the whole nautical business network and causes suffering in equal amounts for the small nautical shops in Porto Cristo as well as the big refit companies in Palma. All of them our associates, all of them equally important. The passion for our work is the force that keeps us afloat and makes us continue forward. 

For this reason I dedícated a few words of recognition to various generations of entrepreneurs that carry the love of the sea in their DNA and who fight day by day to ride out this storm. Companies like Náutica Rossello and Metalnox that we had the honour to pay tribute to. 

Balearics is one of the most beautiful destinations of the whole of the Mediterranean to practice recreational yachting and we offer a varied supply of nautical products and services of quality. Our companies, many of them family businesses, are formed by good and experienced professionals. 

But little does it serve us to be the best if the public administrations continue to hinder us with fiscal and bureaucratic obstacles. The taxation we suffer, one of the most reactionary in the whole of Europe, takes the edge of our competitiveness and scares our clients away to other destinations, cheaper and of less quality, but where they don´t have to fight with the obstacles we have here. 

VI Award for the Longest Membership goes to Metalnox.

The VI Award for the Longest Membership goes this year to Metalnox, a company associated to AENB since 1993. The company, specialized in all that has with metal work to do is a good example of the capacity to adapt to change that our industrial fabric has and to take advantage of Investigation, Development and Innovation. The director of Metalnox, Ignacio Arias, gives us a review of the extensive trajectory of his company. 

What does the award mean to you? 

The truth is we have been a long time in the business so it is great to be recognized.

What can you tell us about the trajectory of the company and your own career? 

We are two lifelong associates, José Rua and myself. We started in ´85 or ´86 with a joint assets company attending the demand in the Calvià area and the nearby ports. Later, I think in 1992 we founded the Limited Liability Company (S.L) and from there on we have been developing the business. We extended to other activities that had to do with metal work in some urbanisations in the area, and the company kept growing, ultimately specially in the nautical sector. 

For a time, between ´92 and ´96, we were located in the Moll Vell in Palma. Particularly during those years we became well known in the nautical circles. In year 2000 and thereafter we have also participated in some trade fairs in Club de Mar. From then on we have collaborated in many national and international fairs, exhibiting our products (sometimes through third parties). 

VI AENB AWARD for the associate with “The Most Outstanding Professional Trajectory”: Náutica Rosselló

Náutica Rosselló is a family company founded in 1995 by Juan Rossello, who was also the secretary of AENB until last year, when he sadly passed away. The recepction of 26 trophies during these 18 years awarded by the brands in representation are a testimony of the excellent management of the company. For this reason Náutica Rosselló receives the award for “The Company with the Most Outstanding Professional Trajectory”, given by AENB at the Annual General Meeting this year. We interview Tina Campins, one of the people who has worked in the company since its foundation.

This year you have received the award for the most outstanding professional trajectory. What does this mean to you?

This prize honours the memory of our beloved founder Juan Rosselló, who sadly is not with us anymore, and awards the great work that he has done both within Náutica Rosselló and outside it during a long time. We receive this award in the name of Juan Rosselló.

Could you talk to us about the trajectory of the company? When and how was it started?

Juan Rosselló worked in the nautical sector for more tan 30 years. He was the director of the nautical sector of Socias y Rosselló. In ´94 he started to think about setting up his own business, and due to various circumstances and changes in that company, he decided to launch on his own and founded Náutica Rosselló in February 1995. Then the company had only 2 people on fixed contract and a mechanic on an hourly rate. We started without any direct distribution rights, just with some brands on secundary line. We had a workshop of 200 m2, when 100 would have been enough, and the telephone rang about twice a day (and that on good days!) But thanks to the hard work of Juan Rosselló the clients started coming in and getting to know us…We had two years of hard work and very meagre outcome, but from ´97 onwards we started to see the results of the hard work and the invested time. After observing our evolution over a period of time, the suppliers conceded us direct distribution rights of some of the best brands on the market, and thats how we started receiving some of the awards, like the one for the number 1 in sales in Spain of inflatables Bombard and Zodiac. From there on the company simply took off.

The VI "The most collaborating public entity during 2012" AENB Award goes to Direction General of Commerce and Business.

The Direction General of Commerce and Business receives this award from AENB as the most collaborating public entity during the past year. The Director General, César Pacheco, considers the nautical sector as very dynamic and assures that his department will do everything possible to eliminate obstacles and to promote the development of the sector. The 6th Prizegiving Ceremony of these awards will take place on the 21st of February during the galadinner after the Annual General Meeting of the Association.

The Direction General of Commerce and Business receives this award from AENB as the most collaborating public entity during the past year. As a Director General, what does this distinction mean to you? 

To start with, it is a surprise, I didn´t expect it. Secondly, it is something to be very pleased about as we see it as a recognition from the nautical sector towards the work that the whole team of the Direction General of Commerce and Business is doing. Our team is a group of public workers and employees who through their daily work try to help the balearic entrepreneurs. In fact, with a reference to the nautical sector there are three employees who coordinate and maintain the relationship with the nautical sector, specially through the Organizing Committee of the Palma Boat Show. They are Paquita Ferragut, José Maria Sans and Margarita Vidaña, the three form part of the Direction General of the Commerse and Business through the afficiliated public company IDI (Insitute of Business Innovation). The award is also a recognition of their labour. 

When you started in the Government the nautical sector was on a war footing. A month earlier, during the Palma Boat Show 2011, entrepreneurs, professionals and users had organized a unified protest for the first time against what they considered negligence of the Government towards the sector. How in your opinion has the relationship between the nautical world and public administration developed? 

I think in a positive direction. At the moment we are working side by side with the nautical sector and specially with the Palma International Boat Show. We have revived the role of the Organizing Committee so that the sector can have a say how the Show should be organized. Besides we have generated lots of other activities in conjunction with the Show to act as a locomotive. The end result is the Palma International Nautical Week, and I think this is good for everybody. For those involved, there will be no lack of illusion, effort and dedication. 

The number of recreational vessels in Spain decreased by 12,3% in 2012.

The recreational boating sector continues to decline for the fifth consequtive year, with a drop of 12,3% in the number of recreational boat registrations in Spain, slightly less than last year when the drop was 14%, but still a clear reflexion of a depressed market. 

This can be deduced from the Market Report for the Recreational Boats in Spain, based on the data for the year 2012 collected by the Direction General of the Merchant Marine, edited by the National Association of Nautical Businesses (ANEN) and published this Friday. 

Between January and December 2012, a total of 4.845 recreational boats were registered in Spain, compared to the 5.522 in the previous year, a deterioration that has been accelerating throughout the year, after the decline by 8,7% during the first quarter. 

According to the association, the “instoppable” drop in boat sales is “a consequence in part of the high taxation that the sector is subjected to, compared to the alternative of the more popular charter, an option that continues to grow. In fact, the recreational boat charter grew by 26,7% in 2012.