Talks With Jonas Gothberg: The Man Known as Mr. Nimbus

We have met with Jonas Gothberg in January during Düsseldorf boat show where he shared drops of his wisdom being in the nautical world for all his life, out of which he spent last 30 years in Nimbus, also putting Croatia on the important place within the Nimbus world.

HOW WOULD YOU PRESENT YOURSELF PROFESSIONALLY? 
My career at marine industry and Nimbus goes way back, because I started as a young kid at Volvo Penta. My passion has always been boating and relation with customers, that's the driver for me. I'm also a technical guy, as I build my own boats as a hobby, so I have a lot of passion in boating. I started at Nimbus over 30 years ago now. And as a young kid living and growing up on the west coast (of Sweden), Nimbus was always the dream, the sport Nimbus 21 DC at that time, which turned into 2060 and Ballista and the Coupé range. And I've had them all as a private boats. So, passion for boating, was super important for me. Professionally, I took the next step with Nimbus in late 2010, becoming sales director and later brand manager. So, I've travelled around the world with the Nimbus. I was part of bringing that brand together with my colleagues to the US. I've met all our dealers around the globe and was part of appointing them and trying to build what we often talk about as the Nimbus family. 

THAT'S WHY THEY CALL YOU MR. NIMBUS? 
I'm a strong believer in relations. And good relations create good business, that's the goal, as we're here to sell boats. But if we have a nice product like the Nimbus, we have good marketing and we surround ourselves with good people – I would say that's a good recipe for success.

YOU ALSO HAVE A NEW TEAM? 
Swedish intelligence (smile), I was very glad to hear that Johan Inden signed on as CEO for Nimbus, coming from Volvo Penta. That meant a lot to me because I know he's very passionate about boating, and also about the products and the people, which fits my situation in Nimbus very well. I strongly believe that we will move forward with very great energy, together with Christina Evans, the commercial director and deputy CEO, to take another step within Nimbus. 

YOU SAID THAT YOU HAVE MADE 200 CHANGES TO NIMBUS 11, WHICH HAS NOW BECOME A 12-METER BOAT. CAN YOU PLEASE NAME SOME? 
We have a series, the 12-metre range, of a 42 feet long boats. It's actually three boats. But what is common for all three is the bathing platform, with the integration, the new stainless steel going around the boat and a balcony on T-top. That are very visible changes. Then we have reinforced the structure to take the bigger engines which our customers want, now we can offer 850 horsepower. But we also wanted to make the boat even more tight driving at good sea. But to point out specifically the C11/C12, we have lifted the galley, made it more Coupé-like, like a sports Coupé, you can say. Because now you can live inside a Coupé. We have made the floor space bigger on the back so you can have better seating area and have a new sofa with movable backrest. On the T12, balcony and the T-top are very visible changes. The new T-top is super, super nice. And of course, the driver's seat. That is something I, as a captain, value very much. While driving a boat in heavy condition, if you're not sitting properly, you may have problems, and sometimes you can sit for hours. We had a quite interesting trip together with Dario Marjan from Nava Boats when we had a dealer meeting in Croatia. We had winds up to 22 metres per second and were for hours out in the sea. Then it's important that you sit comfortable and safe, so you have control over the boat. 

NOW YOU ALSO HAVE A 495 COUPÉ, MOSTLY FOR RIVERS?
Yes, the rivers are one thing that's important because you have the European waterway system. We have a lot of coupé boats, and traditionally, Nimbus is a coupé brand, especially at the west coast of Sweden, the west coast of Norway. We have many coupés travelling around in the US as well. So, it's not only the inland waterways. But it's for people who want to stay out a long time on the boat. They don't necessarily need a flybridge because they use the boat in all weather conditions. And the boat has a super, super view inside, like 360 degrees. Customers use the boat, as I said, wintertime, for longer travels. You still get benefits with the coupé. You get bigger working space in the galley. You get a very nice closet out of the off-deck. I would say for us people who like to sail, coupé would be a way to go. 

WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT YOUR COOPERATION WITH NAVA BOATS? 
We met for the first time five years ago with Dario and his daughters, at the Cannes Boat Show. And Nava has grown to be one of our bigger dealers. And also dearest (smile). Because of how they handle the customers. They have always a big fleet and are exceptional at showing the boats. And they are very nice people to work with, and a solid reputation in the market. As I said, good relations is something that we value high.