Beneteau remains anchored in its people

MARION — To create the floating dream — that is the goal of Beneteau USA’s factory in Marion.

“It’s a floating dream because somebody that buys what we create and what we provide has to be dreaming about it for a long time,” Beneteau USA President Wayne Burdick said. “It’s a huge investment, it’s more expensive than most people invest in their houses. They have to dream about it for years.

AT A GLANCE

Name: Beneteau USA
Established: 1994 in Marion
Address: 1313 U.S. 76 West, Marion
President: Wayne Burdick
Employees: 150
Product: Sailboat manufacturer and dealer
Web: http://www.beneteauusa.com

“It’s their vehicle that they use to go out on God’s great ocean to enjoy time with their family.”

Beneteau USA has been manufacturing these floating works of art for 25 years inside the 250,000-square-foot facility.

Burdick said the finished product is one of the biggest benefits of working for Beneteau.

“People don’t work for money. They work for pride, they work for sense of fulfillment,” he said.

The France-based company has been in business since 1884. It was founded by Benjamin Beneteau and has remained a family company now being run by Benjamin’s granddaughter, Madame Annette Beneteau Roux.

“Madame Roux will always ask about the people, how are the people and what are their concerns,” Burdick said.

Beneteau prides itself on being a family company. Burdick said last year was a difficult time, but the company remembered to take care of the people first.

“We could have done things differently and saved a bunch of money but the reality is you have to be concerned about the people and the family first. We are here in a very special community and Marion needs us and we need our team to be successful,” Burdick said.

“We have some amazing people, simply amazing, they’re talented, they’re skilled, they’re appreciative, they’re motivated because they want Beneteau to succeed,” Jennifer Reinman, director of human resources, said.

The Marion Beneteau family has 150 employees, after 30 production team members were laid off in February 2009 because sales had fallen to new historic lows.

“We’ve treated them well and they’ve stepped up to the plate and they want us to succeed and we will. It’s that conservative community oriented attitude,” Reinman said.

Beneteau reports sales have improved significantly from last year, though it will take years to be up to what sales used to be.

“It’s going to take quite a while for people to have that confidence again and it’s not that the money has disappeared,” Burdick said. “The doctors still have the money and the attorneys still have the money and the big cheeses still have the money. It’s that they are more conservative with how they think about it. They need their confidence to come back and know the world is going to be OK.”

Despite tough economic times, Beneteau is continuing to make history. Earlier this month, its largest watercraft, a 50-foot, injected deck boat, left Charleston to head to the Miami boat show, Burdick said.

Beneteau’s goal is to continue to make improvements and provide a better value to it customers, he said.