Mantsbrite Limited, one of the UK's leading distributors of technical electronic marine navigation and communication products, owes its on-going success in no small part to the quality of its network of technical dealers.
One such dealer is Temarine, owned by Terry Smith and his partner, Jenny Williams, based in Plymouth. The company has grown steadily over the years, and currently employs four engineers and is opening a new operation in Brixham, Devon.
Terry has a wealth of experience in marine electronics garnered from his long career in the UK and abroad, and is a long-standing colleague of Mantsbrite's David Ash, whom he met on a training course many years ago. The result is that the two companies have established a close working relationship. Most of Tecmarine's clients are deep sea fishing companies operating large trawlers and both coastal and deep sea fishing vessels. Reliable navigation equipment is vital to the men operating these vessels in often unfriendly conditions. To a lesser degree it also fits out other commercial vessels and some private yachts.
"Tecmarine buys many products from Mantsbrite's range," says Terry. "However, the Koden range is probably the most important to us, being of such good quality and competitively priced. Their products are what I call 'fit and forget', which is most important when boats are at sea for a long time and unable to return easily for repairs."
Eighteen months ago, Tecmarine was commissioned to fit out a boat for Interfish, a local fishing company that operates 8 boats. The installation included a variety of high-tech equipment the majority of which - the 2 radars, a GPS system, a satellite gyro compass and fluxgate interface and echo sounder - were sourced from Mantsbrite. The installation went well, and apart from an initial problem with the motor on one of the radars which was swiftly replaced under warranty, everything worked efficiently. In fact, Interfish is so pleased with the result that Tecmarine has been asked to fit out a second boat. Work on this vessel began in July 2013.
