Miami-based Flagship Marine Group

In Spain, the name Astondoa, is practically a synonym for yachting. Headquartered in Santa Pola, near Alicante, Astondoa has been in business for 96 years and has more than 3,500 vessels to it credit, ranging in size from 40 feet to 197 feet (its largest steel project to date). The shipyard’s production currently approaches 100 units per year, including flybridge yachts, open/express cruisers and a megayacht series. So the vessels of this family-owned shipyard can be found in marinas all around the Mediterranean. The builder has its own engineering and design facilities, but also works closely with renowned Italian designer Fulvio De Simoni for exterior styling and Cristiano Gatto on many of its interiors.

Flagship Marine Group’s founder and president Rafael Barca, who has ample experience representing European shipyards on this side of the Atlantic, sees Astondoa’s diverse production as perfectly suited for the experienced American market. He was very impressed with Astondoa’s facilities, production capability and other virtues. “The company has zero debt,” he says. While financially conservative, Astondoa built facilities that comprise more than 4,500,000 square feet of combined manufacturing space for everything from hulls to interiors. It even has its own furniture division, called Classyc, a 900,000-square-foot facility located in Almansa, close to the factory that produces Astondoa’s 40- to-55-foot production boats.

Barca is planning to show a couple of new flybridge models at the 2012 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

For more information, visit flagshipmarinegroup.com or astondoa-yacht.com

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