If you've ever traveled internationally then at some point you've probably discovered something in a foreign country and thought, “I think this would be popular back home.” Maybe you'd like to have a Japanese toilet, one of those Australian utes (small truck), or perhaps just an imperial pint of European ice cream in your freezer. While some smaller products such as ketchup potato chips from Canada or the popular Brazilian soft drink Guaraná Antarctica are easier than others to bring home in a suitcase, realistically some of the best foreign discoveries may never be available in other countries.
Fortunately for Brazilian natives Benedito Prado Neto and his wife Valéria De Fusco Pereira, they were determined not to let the daunting task and monumental challenge deter them from taking something they had discovered in the US and bringing it to their country.
Pontoon Discovery
Neto and Valéria first learned about pontoon boats on a trip to the U.S. nearly 15 years ago and felt these unique crafts would do very well in their country. At that time pontoon boats were practically unheard of in Brazil. The couple picked up a copy of Pontoon & Deck Boat magazine off a newsstand while visiting Florida and had a feeling pontoon boats could be just as popular in their country as they are in ours. Carl Morahan, owner of Fiesta Marine in Hudson, Fla., took them out on one of his pontoons, which was all the convincing they needed to move forward.
Their Place In History
When it comes to boating history and listing the key people responsible for the evolution of the modern day pontoon, at the top of the list has to be Ambrose Weeres, who is credited as the inventor. However, you could also make a case that the VCAT management team are pontoon pioneers in their own country.
After spending time on the Fiesta pontoon during their trip to the U.S., the couple were determined to introduce this popular craft to their home country of Brazil. Neto (master viewer) and his wife Valéria (CEO) teamed up with their business partner Marcos Ferreira (industrial viewer) to launch VCAT Pontoon Boats in 2012.
Humble Beginnings
“VCAT was born from a dream of wanting to do something new,” says Valéria. “We wanted to produce something that was new to the boat market here and also made sense for our lifestyle.”
Before beginning, the manufacturer had three specific requirements: to use recyclable raw materials, reduce production waste, and provide a specific design for the Brazilian market.
“When you bring a new concept you are responsible for setting the standards of the market,” says Neto.
It's one thing to have a dream, but it's another to take that idea and turn it into a reality. Everything was new and a considerable investment needed to be made in heavy machines to bend, weld, and perform other manufacturing tasks. The VCAT team quickly learned that some of the manufacturing equipment needed to build pontoon boats didn't exist in their country. However, this wasn't a roadblock, but rather just the first challenge to overcome. For those specific machines needed to get started, they simply made them themselves.
“There were many challenges including no machines on the market that were suitable for construction of this type of structure so we had to build the machines ourselves,” recalls Valéria. “We had to create specific profiles and find suppliers, so it was a period of one to two years of very intense research and development. Only those close to us truly understand the difficulties that we encountered in the beginning.”
Going Bigger
Creating a specific design for the Brazilian market remained a high priority, so building exactly what they had seen from the U.S. market wasn't an option.
“The Americans make boats up to 25 feet long and are happy, but we discovered the Brazilian people wanted more, much more,” recalls Neto. “In 2022 at the São Paulo Boat Show we launched the Alvorada 1100, which is almost 40 feet long. If you add up all the spaces it has over 750 square feet of useful space. We like to tell our customers, “We built it because you asked for it.”
The successful launch of the Alvorada 1100 was preceded by the Aurora 900 that was released in 2017. The 9-meter or 29.5-foot model was designed to provide more room on board.
“The idea of having VCAT boats is the idea of having a boat with a lot of space,” adds Neto. “We launched Aurora 900 and in a very short amount of time it turned into a huge success because we were building one of the bigger pontoon boats in the world, a 29-footer.”
Full Lineup
The model names are as unique as the boats themselves. Alvorada is named after the Alvorada Palace where the president of Brazil lives and Aurora in Portuguese translates to sunrise. The 36-foot Alvorada 1100 is the impressive flagship model, while the Aurora 900 line includes the UP (upper deck), NG (new generation) and the original 900, which are all 29.5 feet long or 9 meters. The Aurora 750 is 7.50 meters long or 24.6 feet, while the Twilight 650 is 6.25 meters or 20.5 feet long.
Besides recreational models, VCAT also offers a line of tourism models, a performance VREX line, VCAT Army for its military and a handful of other spin offs including the first electric pontoon in Latin America that is eco-friendly and is 100 percent electric with zero emissions.
“Everyone who is into electric boats wants to spend less on fuel and travel more, but it's not just about the cost,” says Neto. “We've invested millions in the development of new technologies in the design and the development of electric boat engines because they need to be developed here in Brazil.
Alvorada
While we were visiting the plant, the latest Alvorada 1100 was just nearing completion, which gave us our first look at the high-end model that is 36 feet long and nearly 12 feet wide.
“We actually started with a 750-meter (24.6-foot) boat and today incredibly we are manufacturing one of the largest pontoon boats in the world, which is very satisfying,” says Marcos. “We don't just stop at one idea either. We saw the need in the market, so we came up with these ideas of doing different things using the platform of what we were already doing and expanded it.”
The greatest quality of VCAT management might just be its dedication to developing something new, as the partners of VCAT are clearly passionate about research and development. The Alvorada has a lot of unique designs including a bow lounge area with a walk around area so you don't need to pass through the center of the boat to access the front. Access to the top deck is also unique with full-sized steps and a handrail with a similar layout found on the Aurora 900 UP models.
The galley below or “beach club” provides a great area for entertaining with key features such as a full barbecue grill that is found on all VCAT models. Adding other amenities such as a beer tap, additional built-in coolers and other features are possible as the manufacturer allows customers to customize their boat according to their preferences.
“Our focus has always been our customers, what they think and what they want,” says Neto. “We have people here who are very demanding so we have to meet this requirement and the quality requirement. We want them to have their boat the way they want it.”
The command center or the helm is also well designed with complete view navigation cameras, full instrumentation and dual helm chairs. Like the chairs, all the furniture is done in-house from the aluminum seat bases to the cushions that were all designed for comfort as well as style.
Other features worth noting include the slide-out footrests for the raised bench seats, easy-to-use boarding ladder attached to integrated steps that are built into the stern end of the outside pontoons, as well as a marine head compartment that includes a toilet and an internal shower. Popular horsepower options for the Alvorada 1100 are twin 150hp outboards up to twin 350hp outboards for a total of 700hp.
Growing Pains
Tremendous success led to a different challenge when VCAT had outgrown its original location in the city of São Paulo and a move was no longer a probability, but a foregone conclusion if they wanted to continue to grow. In 2023 VCAT moved its entire operation facility from the heavily-populated city of São Paulo to the countryside in Itatiba.
The new 90,000-square-foot building is exactly what they needed to continue to grow, but the biggest challenge with the move was the turnover of employees. The majority of their workforce wasn't willing to relocate two hours west, so a large portion of their employees had to be replaced. For months they hired their former employees to help train their new ones, and quickly picked up where they had left off before the move. Today, nearly 100 employees make up the new workforce that management is proud to say is very gender balanced.
Far Reaching
VCAT was born from a dream of providing more comfort, pleasure and practicality to those who enjoy boating and that dream continues to spread to other countries.
“We are not only pioneers in Brazil, but we also strive to be leaders throughout the Latin American market,” explains Neto. “Our vessels are present throughout Brazil and other countries such as Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile. A few years ago we started our path to become the largest shipyard in Latin America in our segment. At that time, we met Guillermo Troelsen from Drakkar Boats in Argentina, and a new partnership was formed.”
Today Drakkar and VCAT are sister companies that for years have maintained fluid communication and a common vision for the development and introduction of the pontoon segment, boats that simply did not exist in its respective markets. Since 2018, Drakkar Boats (www.drakkar.com.ar) has been producing models in Argentina ranging from 18 to 26 feet long.
“For a few years we have increased our collaboration for a more clear and defined approach in order to generate a lineup of models between both brands, which complement each other and thus strengthens our respective markets,” explains Neto. “This partnership is based on the contribution of our know-how in production matters, transferring improvements and technology so that Drakkar can apply it to its products and construction processes. At the same time, we rely on the commercial and market experience that Drakkar has in the region.”
Future Growth
“I feel proud of what we started, everything we've been through and how we've grown to where we are today,” concludes Valéria. “It brings me a lot of pride. Looking back on what we have overcome and all the challenges, we showed great resilience to be in the market today with the structure we are in. I also have a great peace of mind because we know we are on the right path.”
This is just the beginning for VCAT who started from scratch with only a dream, yet has successfully brought high-end pontoon boats to Brazil. Decades from now we'll be able to see how their pioneering efforts have made a gigantic contribution to the boating industry and be able to truly measure their reach in the pontoon industry.
