Dometic's watermaker could be another money-maker

Dometic Marine, supplier of comfort systems for yachts and HVAC and engine room ventilation, has decided to enter the watermaker market, launching its new line of “unique” products at the 2014 Miami International Boat Show. The Dometic Sea Xchange Sea Water Reverse Osmosis System turns sea water into potable water and the Dometic Spot Zero Fresh Water Reverse Osmosis System uses water from the available dock hose (or sea water reverse osmosis system) for spot-free cleaning of boat exteriors. SuperyachtNews.com spoke to Ken Taranto, vice president of Dometic Marine, to find out more about the decision to enter the watermaker market and what makes their products unique to the market.

“We have a large global footprint and a lot of my dealers indicated to me that there was a transition in the watermaker market,” Taranto explains. “A couple of companies had been sold over the past couple of years and some companies really weren’t standing behind their products really in the way that they should have been. Sea Recovery was being purchased by Parker and whenever there is transition, there is opportunity. We, like all businesses, strive to grow but we also strive to support customers and we felt that our customers could benefit from additional products and being supported by the network of dealers and distributors that we have around the world. For us, this provides an avenue for growth.”


Dometic Marine have partnered with Spot Zero in producing the new line of watermakers. “Spot Zero had developed a freshwater purification system which is quite unique,” says Taranto. “It takes freshwater and turns it into ultra-pure fresh water and a lot of the parts of the world where yachts go, such as the Bahamas and Costa Rica, the quality of the dock water is not great. The driving force was that if you can get water ultra pure then you don’t have to chammy the boat.” And Taranto believes that this is unique to the market; “There are some companies that offer water softener systems but these are not as effective. Nobody has achieved the same visibility and growth in this area.”


Taranto also believes that the Dometic watermakers stand out due to their design. “They have been designed from a user’s point of view rather than a manufacturer’s,” he explains. “There are two types of units; frame and modular. The frame system comes as one fixed unit and the modular comes in bits and pieces, which is good if there is limited space on board. Our product is the only watermaker that comes as frame and modular in one; we ship it as a frame system but you can break it into individual components to move around depending on space.”

“We have put a lot of thought into it and investing in it in terms of people as well as the product,” adds Taranto. “Miami Boat Show was interesting and we got a lot of positive feedback and reinforcement for what we did, but we have got a lot of work to now. We are also in the process of expanding the product line, as there are some additional products that we want to add.”

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