A Bremen-based SME is bringing excellent sound and picture quality to mega-yachts. Home & Marine's expertise extends from audio and video installations to complex entertainment, communication and security systems. The now 65-strong team at Home & Marine has worked on more than 100 yachts since the company was founded just over 25 years ago.
The large conference room in Home & Marine's headquarters in Bremen-Nord exudes restrained elegance. Only a silver high-end record player on the sideboard and two black tower speakers at the front immediately draw the eye. "Wait, there's more," Günter Trempnau usually says to his guests just before a 60-inch flat screen TV folds down from the ceiling. Trempnau has been able to impress quite a few customers with this. The 61-year-old is the founder and managing partner of Bremen-based electronics specialist Home & Marine, which equips mega-yachts and luxury homes around the world with entertainment, communication and security systems and the necessary IT infrastructure. With a restraint that rivals his conference room, Trempnau states in a matter-of-fact manner: "Our service is unique around the world."
The now 65-strong team at Home & Marine has equipped more than 100 yachts since the company was founded just over 25 years ago, but not all of them are named in the list of references on the website. That is because is discretion is valued very highly in the world of luxury yachts and mega-yachts, in which another Bremen-based company, shipbuilders Lürssen, is a leading player. Unsurprisingly, Trempnau does not talk about his clientele or the type or content of orders that his company deals with. But a few names do give an idea of the spheres in which this SME based in Bremen-Vegesack operates. In 2010, Home & Marine worked on billionaire Roman Abramovich's yacht, the Eclipse, built by Blohm+Voss and one of the largest in the world. It has also worked on the Octopus, which the internet claims belongs to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. But it would be wrong to assume that the company only deals in the luxury market. Other ships that Home & Marine has worked on include the Berlin, a supply ship of the German Navy. "We specialise in complex electronic systems and networks, and those include entertainment systems," Trempnau says.
The workshops at the headquarters in Bremen-Vegesack reflect this core competency. Inconspicuous black boxes full of electronics are fixed into custom-built racks, as are data servers and large storage media. Once installed on board, they represent the technical backbone of the entertainment and communication systems, which can range from a discotheque to a video-on-demand system for the crew's entertainment when they are off duty, to a complete security system to protect the vessel against all conceivable dangers.
Trempnau and his team provide end-to-end solutions. They develop the basic architecture and the necessary cabling and network plans, put together the hardware and code the software, and integrate the components on board. A subsidiary even manufactures the mechanical parts needed to secure the expensive technology in place. This is where the company's roots shine through – Trempnau and his business partner, Eric Schädler, are qualified radio and television engineers: "I started out building radios and televisions into pieces of furniture, and the business idea evolved from there," says Trempnau.
At its heart, Home & Marine is a Bremen-based business, but it also operates around the world. Until a few years ago, the company had sites in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and in Antigua, among others; but now Trempnau focuses his business on the large shipyards in Germany: "We still have a good infrastructure around the world, which means we can deploy our team anywhere at short notice," he says. The likelihood of meeting both him and Schädler in Bremen at the same time is low: "One of us is always on the go." An international assignment may occur for any number of reasons, such as installing new technology or adding new features. So far, no-one has had to set off to repair one of their own systems: "Our global reputation is also based on the fact that our defect rate is zero," says Trempnau.
This excellent record is also down to the fact that the two managing partners take the needs of their customers and their workforce equally seriously. Trempnau and Schädler go to great lengths to train and develop their staff and encourage remote working to promote a better work/life balance. In Hamburg, they established a branch office with the sole purpose of attracting graduates from the local media technology course to the company. To ensure that the team is able to relax even in times of stress, the staff can take advantage of regular on-site physiotherapy sessions. The thinking behind this is as simple and persuasive as the unpretentious conference room: "If you want to deliver the highest quality of service, you need a high-quality team," says Trempnau.
If you are interested in the company Home & Marine and its products, please contact Günter Trempnau, managing partner at Home & Marine, +49 421 - 66 15 46, info@home-marine.com.
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