NEW deals in the superyacht and motor boat sectors have helped a maritime company increase turnover by a quarter in the past year under new management.

Poole-based Marine Components International has seen turnover rise to £1.35million, nearly double the level of sales two years ago.

The business distributes and provides technical support for products from a range of manufacturers.

Managing director Andy Scott, who took over in 2017, said growth was driven by orders for its American-made Bennett trim tabs systems, which improve the performance of boats by adjusting their running angles.

Customers include luxury boat builders Sunseeker International in Dorset and Plymouth-based Princess Yachts.

The company says it is also seeing growing demand for its US-manufactured Groco range of bronze valves and strainers, with deals struck with superyacht and boat building yards in Italy and Greece.

Another area of growth is the firm’s Dr Shrink range of industrial packaging, which is used to shrink wrap boats during refit and winter storage. Mr Scott said boat yards in the UK and Majorca had placed orders for MCI’s Dr Shrink products in the past year, and it was being used in the industrial sector for protecting machinery during transportation and buildings under construction.

Mr Scott, who has worked in the maritime sector for 30 years, said: “We’re delighted to see growth in the last year after a huge amount of effort from the new team.

“MCI is a well-established and well-known company with a good client base. But it was in need of modernising. We have introduced a range of improvements including better stock rotation and shorter lead in times to offer customers more value and a better service. Our ambition is to be much more proactive with the business and double MCI’s turnover within three years to more than £3m.”

He said the company, founded in 1990, had a strategy to win more work in the superyacht and leisure marine sectors, working with boat yards and naval architects in the UK and Europe.