CBS-Kenkiz Marine: "Innovation will come more from the materials we use"

The shipyard from the ria d'Etel (on the left CBS and on the right Etelium) © CBS-Kenkiz Marine

CBS-Kenkiz Marine, a historic shipyard and distributor in the Étel ria, has been taken over by Var-based ACTI in 2019. At the end of a tilting period, Yannick Bian handed over the helm to Julien Gonzalez, an executive with shareholder group ACTI. He provides an initial assessment, with a focus on sales repositioning and export development.

Xavier Eveillé Published on December 14, 2023

Taken over in 2019 by ACTI of Var, the Chantier Bretagne Sud (CBS)-Kenkiz Marine group has been headed by Julien Gonzalez since summer 2023. Julien Gonzalez joined the group based in Belz and Etel, Morbihan, after working for two years with his predecessor Yannick Bian, who sold his shares to ACTI. He had already been running Kenkiz Marine for two years: "I previously worked for France's leading shipping company CMA CGM, so I already had one foot in the yachting business before taking over as head of Kenkiz Marine and Le Chantier."

CBS-Kenkiz Marine emploie 18 salariÃ©s Ã Belz et Etel (c) CBS-Kenkiz Marine — CBS-Kenkiz Marine has 18 employees in Belz and Etel (c) CBS-Kenkiz Marine

Commercial repositioning

The Breton group's positioning is quite original, since it comprises two entities: a distributor - Kenkiz Marine - and a shipyard, Chantier Bretagne Sud (CBS). Kenkiz Marine, which employs 8 people, specializes in the sale of shallow-draft boats to private customers and public purchasing groups. The company also sells nautical equipment. Julien Gonzalez makes the following observation: "Kenkiz sales will almost double by 2023. We are more present with high-potential customers and have also developed partnerships with local diving and long-distance clubs."

Le chantier naval fabrique ses bateaux polyester et aluminium (c) CBS-Kenkiz Marine — The shipyard manufactures polyester and aluminum boats (c) CBS-Kenkiz Marine

Less focused on prototyping

Chantier Bretagne Sud and its 10 employees are undergoing major changes: "We're shaking up the shipyard's industrial and technical skills by developing new, ever more sophisticated product ranges that take tomorrow's environmental challenges into account, and that know how to best meet our customers' needs." In particular, CBS manufactures a large series of HDPE boats for the river police and gendarmerie. Julien Gonzalez explains: "The catalog includes a whole range of semi-rigid, rotomolded, aluminum and HDPE boats manufactured in the Belz workshops. A fire barge is currently under construction at the yard for an African oil company."

CBS is also known in the ria d'Étel for its Etelium brand, clearly visible from the Pont Lorois. Etelium was involved in numerous pilot projects, but prototyping will no longer be its cornerstone. Julien Gonzalez sums up the company's positioning as follows: "We're going to stay very innovative with the materials we use, but maybe not reinvent everything every time."