Operations & heritage

Founded 30 years ago, Vitters is a family owned and managed shipyard and has enjoyed the opportunity of being trusted to build a significant number of magnificent yachts, the in-house team working closely with specialist subcontractors and suppliers. During the start-up phase, in 1990, Vitters was considered the underdog in the industry and critics said that building our first project would be virtually impossible, defying convention. The founders, who are still today’s owners of the shipyard, rebelliously took up the challenge, with what was then a small team, and proved them wrong. This mentality (some call it disruptive innovation) still resonates through Vitters’ values – one reason that a Vitters yacht is a boat length ahead of the competition!

Vitters’ operation comprises some 80 skilled and dedicated employees, including engineers, craftsmen, a foremen and project managers backed up by support departments. The business model relies on subcontracting larger parts of the yacht. Subcontractors’ work is treated as an integral part of the Vitters’ responsibility. They are parties with whom we have longstanding relationships. Having the opportunity to match a specific job with the right supplier, gives Vitters the opportunity to pick the best specialist for the project, at precisely the time when it is needed, giving an efficient, optimum overall result. When we pioneered this way of working in the early nineties, it was quite revolutionary. Today, it has become the industry norm.