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Pure Yachts is building a new shipyard in Kiel-Friedrichsort
State funding boosts the maritime innovation hub
A strong signal for Kiel as a business hub: the start-up Pure Yachts is to receive a grant of just under €1.1 million from the state of Schleswig-Holstein to establish a modern yacht manufacturing facility in Kiel-Friedrichsort. The funds come from the State Economic Programme 2021–2027 and are being provided via the Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein (IB.SH) from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
State Secretary for Economic Affairs Julia Carstens today presented a grant notification to Pure Yachts founder and managing director Matthias Schernikau.
There is currently no comparable yacht-building yard in Germany that offers a complete service for the design and construction of aluminium sailing yachts in the luxury segment. The investment is also helping to revitalise the former Lindenau site, where double-hulled tankers were once the main products. With ‘Pure Yachts’, we now have another ambitious shipyard in the country that has sought and found its niche. And through their strong focus on sustainability, the operators are also sending a powerful, forward-looking signal.
Julia Carstens
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business
Innovative aluminium sailing yachts from Kiel
Pure Yachts was founded in late 2023 by Matthias Schernikau (CEO), Urs Kohler and Ivars Linbergs. The company develops and builds high-quality, high-performance aluminium sailing yachts ranging from 42 to 60 feet in length, which offer a high level of on-board comfort thanks, among other things, to their innovative deck saloon concept. The combination of performance, durable aluminium construction and a modern, functional interior layout is considered unique on the market to date. This symbiosis is made possible, among other things, by a hydraulic lifting keel system, modern hull lines and ultra-light composite materials in the interior, which are otherwise only used on pure racing yachts.
The first production yacht, the Pure 42, was named ‘Europe’s Blue Water Yacht of the Year’ in early January – one of the industry’s most prestigious awards.
The company’s headquarters are located on the site of the former Lindenau shipyard in Kiel-Friedrichsort. A modern production facility for series-built and custom yachts is currently being built there on a site of around 12,500 square metres, featuring a high degree of vertical integration and digitally supported production processes – including a CAD-controlled 5-axis milling machine and computer-assisted laser and edge-processing technology.
Pure Yachts’ motto is "think exceptional". Our aim is to set new standards in design, choice of materials and build quality. The state funding provides us with the necessary planning security to sustainably expand our production capacity at our Kiel site and continue to grow.
Matthias Schernikau
Managing Director of Pure Yachts
Sustainable development and new jobs
In addition to technological innovation, Pure Yachts is firmly committed to sustainability. Aluminium, the primary construction material, is fully recyclable, and the foam used in the sandwich construction of the interior fittings is made from recycled PET bottles. Furthermore, by revitalising an existing industrial brownfield site in Friedrichsort, the company is consciously prioritising resource-efficient land development.
The company is also demonstrating dynamic growth in terms of labour market policy: instead of the eight jobs envisaged in the funding approval, 16 full-time positions subject to social security contributions have already been created (a total of 21 employees). Due to the positive market development, Pure Yachts is planning further growth.
A strong commitment to Kiel as a business hub: Sailing.City.
The decision to choose Kiel was a deliberate one.
We are very grateful for the support we have received as a start-up in the state capital right from the start. The name of our first production yacht – "Tom Kyle" – pays homage to our home port, as "Tom Kyle" is Old High German for the city of Kiel.
Matthias Schernikau
Managing Director of Pure Yachts
KiWi, Kiel’s economic development agency, also sees the establishment of the business – which it has been supporting since the initial ideas were first mooted – as a major boost for the region.
With Pure Yachts, Kiel is gaining a highly innovative and internationally oriented company that fits perfectly with the maritime DNA of Kiel.Sailing.City. The successful securing of state funding sends a strong signal: new value is being created here, along with skilled jobs and sustainable industrial structures on a shipyard site steeped in tradition.
Einar Rubin
Authorised signatory at KiWi, Kiel Economic Development Agency
Through this funding, the state of Schleswig-Holstein is underlining its strategic objective of supporting innovative industrial projects, strengthening sustainable production structures and enhancing the long-term competitiveness of the maritime economy.
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