"If you start being the best in the world, you stop improving," according to Raimo Sonninen, the managing director of Bella Veneet Oy. The founder of the company is now piloting his boats more firmly towards European waters.

Bella's tale starts at the turn of the turn of the 1950/60s when Raimo Sonninen, a boy living in Iisalmi, had dreams of his own rowing-boat. As there was only enough money for the plywood, he built a canoe without help from anybody. Although the first prototype did not become seaworthy, the next version did.

The boat-building hobby became an industry at the beginning of the 1970s, when orders started coming in for boats designed by Sonninen, who had become well known as a skilled boat builder and competitive yachtsman. The growth from a small garage company into the leading producer of glass-fibre motor boats in Scandinavia had begun.

Today Bella Veneet Oy boats are built at five of the companies' own factories and under subcontract in Estonia. There are three product brands: Bella, Flipper and Aquador.

Humility to learn

Sonninen says that these days there is much more of a difference in a product brand than previously. Bella Veneet Oy's brands are clearly defined so that a character is created for the boats.

The makers of a good product at Bella Veneet are involved in the product development. "You get know-how for product development from production. Genuine humility to learn something new the whole time is important," Sonninen emphasizes.

About 70 per cent of the production is exported, mainly to the Benelux countries, Switzerland, Great Britain, Ireland and the Baltic states. The aim is to increase sales in Europe in particular. More than 100 dealers in northern Europe handle the retailing of the boats.

Towards wider waters

Last year Bella Veneet gained a valuable international partner when the Mercury Marine division of the US company Brunswick Corporation acquired a shareholding in Bella Veneet's. Mercury Marine is the world's leading company in the boat business, producing outboard and inboard motors and leisure time craft.

The transaction will bring Bella Veneet Oy the opportunity to make for wider markets. The cooperation will safeguard continuity and make it possible to further product development, production and international purchases in order to create better products.

"Belief is created by the product development input of the 370-strong designers, new marketing channels and purchasing cooperation," Sonninen states.

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The recipe for Bella Veneet's success is made up of a combination of Scandinavian design, boat-building skills and high-grade materials.