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Thirty years after its foundation, Ruban Bleu changes hands without changing family direction. On July 16, 2025, Thibault de Veyrinas, head of the company based in Vigneux-de-Bretagne (Loire-Atlantique) since 2006, handed over management to his son Côme. This handover marks a strategic step for a major player in electric river navigation. The company's ambition is clear: to broaden its markets, strengthen its technological component and reposition the company in a market in transition.
Pioneering electric propulsion on inland waterways
Founded in 1992, Ruban Bleu was one of the first French companies to specialize in electric boats without a license. The company has built its reputation around a range of products designed for gentle boating, aimed at river tourism professionals, rental bases and local authorities. At a time when the energy transition is also taking hold on inland waterways, the company has a tried-and-tested catalog and expertise in small craft with simple, robust electric motors. With its base in the Loire-Atlantique region, the company is at the heart of a well-structured national and European distribution network.
A family legacy of continuity
The handover from Thibault de Veyrinas to Côme de Veyrinas is in keeping with the logic of a controlled business transfer. After twenty years at the head of the company, Thibault leaves behind a technically consolidated structure, with a stable product range and a growing network. Côme de Veyrinas, already involved in the company, inherits a solid foundation, but will have to develop the offering to adapt it to markets now focused on connectivity, shared use and energy optimization. This change in management is not a break with the past, but a step towards structuring growth on new foundations, adapted to today's industrial standards.
New directions: innovation, digitalization and market expansion
The new CEO has expressed his intention to partially reorientate Ruban Bleu's strategy. Priorities include broadening the product offering, opening up the company to new customer segments, and strengthening the integration of connected solutions. Ultimately, this means developing more intelligent boats, remote monitoring systems, and potentially modular architectures for tourist fleets. This orientation also aims to integrate eco-design elements, in line with the growing expectations of public and private operators concerning the durability of nautical equipment.
A response to growing environmental demands
In a market where environmental regulations are intensifying, the ability to offer solutions compatible with decarbonization objectives is becoming strategic. The development of emission-free river navigation, particularly in Natura 2000 areas, urban centers or low-emission zones (ZFE), is creating a new type of demand. Ruban Bleu will need to position itself as a supplier of suitable solutions, both technically and economically viable, for operators of fleets undergoing conversion. This means working on batteries and recharging cycles, as well as on maintenance logistics and remote supervision.
With this management transition, Ruban Bleu enters a new phase in its industrial history. The challenge is no longer simply to produce reliable, affordable electric boats, but to support the market's move towards more connected, modular and sustainable boating. The challenge is also a generational one: to develop know-how built on sturdiness and use towards a logic of service, user experience and environmental performance. A trajectory that promises to be as fluid as it is silent... in the image of the units produced for over thirty years at Vigneux-de-Bretagne.
