Design Concepts/Marine Concepts celebrates 45th anniversary

In lieu of its 45^th anniversary this spring, Design Concepts/Marine Concepts (DCMC, Sarasota, Fla., U.S) relates the company’s history and how it has become the company it is today.

In 1976 under the leadership of Augusto “Kiko” Villalon, Marine Concepts was founded. Kiko realized that there was not a single design and development company in the U.S. that could take a project from A-Z. To remedy this, Villalon reportedly gathered specialists in every area of design, plug building and mold building. The company’s first project was for Paul Kuck at Regal Boats (Orlando, Fla., U.S.), followed by Chaparral Boats (Nashville, Ga., U.S.) and Cobia Boats (Fort Pierce, Fla., U.S.). Soon, the company says, Marine Concepts’ reputation surpassed the boating industry; it eventually became famous for making more than 85 Twistee Treat 22 ice cream cone-shaped buildings. For someone who was allowed only $5 when he fled Cuba, says the company, Kiko Villalon became one of the most well-known, highly respected and knowledgeable individuals in the marine industry.

In 1994, Bob Long and his wife Karen, purchased Marine Concepts. In a leased shop, with a small crew of existing employees — and some brought in from previous associations — Bob hit the road and sold projects to marine industry acquaintances. With a marine industry career spanning 35 years, including the top position at Wellcraft Marine (Cadillac, Mich., U.S.) for more than 18 years, Bob knew his business. DCMC says he had a vision of where the company should go and bought CNC mills on the hope that his high-tech predictions would play out. They did. Bit by bit, and through the hard work of the professional team at Marine Concepts, the company is said to have became an even stronger force in the marine industry.

In 2016 Bob Long sold the company to investment group LPH (Ga., U.S.) With the additional recourses available, a sixth mill was purchased, the largest one to date. Shortly after, in March of 2017, LPH sold the company, along with its other marine units to Patrick Industries (NASDAQ: PATK, Elkhart, Ind. U.S.). Continued support from the Patrick leadership as well as the leadership within has reportedly enabled Marine Concepts to grow to serve many customers across multiple industries. Today, Marine Concepts employs more than 350 employees, boasts both tooling and part manufacturing capacities capabilities, including various advanced composite capacities and has a 7^th five-Axis machining center arriving in June 2021.