By Brady L. Kay
Now this is where I need to sheepishly admit my complete ignorance. I’m of course fully aware of the pontoon manufacturers shipping boats to other countries, but a powerhouse pontoon manufacturer such as VCAT in Brazil was completely off my radar. For some reason the thought of pontoons being manufactured in other countries never really crossed my mind. I came across this Brazilian manufacturer based in Sao Paulo by chance, and have since become obsessed with wanting to know more.
For the past 15 or so years, VCAT has been ramping up production and building some truly beautiful and high-end pontoon models. We’re talking quality pontoons that could slip into any U.S. boat show and you’d never guess they weren’t being manufactured in Indiana.
I think what fascinates me the most about VCAT is the investment that was made to do it the right way. We’re talking nearly 90,000 square feet of production space using the best equipment possible.
“There were many challenges in the beginning because there were no machines on the market that were suitable for construction of this type of boat, so we had to build the machines ourselves,” said VCAT CEO Valéria De Fusco Pereira. “We had to create specific equipment and find suppliers, so it was a period of one to two years of very intense research and development because we like to do things differently.”
Similar to our market, they experienced the same economic slowdown that we felt in 2010, yet despite the challenging times, their confidence never wavered.
“We were afraid we wouldn’t reach where we did, but at no point did I have any doubts,” said Benedito Prado Neto, the VCAT Master Viewer. “There was no doubt that the biggest concern I had during this whole process of growth was not whether or not we would sell the boats, but our biggest concern was if we would be able to deliver, but we delivered all of them.”
The Aurora 900 was launched in 2017, a 29-foot pontoon, and this line quickly found success.
“The Americans make boats up to 25 feet and are happy, but we discovered that the Brazilian people wanted more, much more,” recalls Neto.
In 2022 the Alvorada 1100, which again is a fully-loaded pontoon that is close to 40 feet in length and named after the Brazilian Palace, was released and according to the manufacturer it has nearly 750 square feet of useful area on board. There are an estimated 500 boats on the water in Latin America in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, with the majority of them located in Brazil as the pontoon manufacturer is clearly going (and growing) in the right direction.
My curiosity got the best of me and with the help of Gustavo Monteiro from Raca Marketing, who represents VCAT, I’ll be heading south this month to see these beautiful pontoons in person.
I won’t be brushing up on my Portuguese for the trip because I never learned to speak a second language, so it should be quite an adventure as I navigate my way through Brazil for the first time.
Yes, I’m a little nervous, but the excitement of exploring a line of pontoon boats that I wasn’t even aware of six months ago clearly outweighs any anxiety of being in a foreign country where I don’t speak the language.
When I get back I’ll be sure to report on what I discovered in Sao Paulo so be sure to watch for updates in our magazine as well as through our social media pages. If you’re curious yourself, check out www.vcat.com.br to see how pontoons are built in a different country.
