Butler County's Nautical Design builds the chairs that give deep-sea fishermen their fighting chance
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John Thiebaud, the owner of Nautical Design.
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In a nondescript building along a desolate stretch of Route 19 in Muddy Creek Township, John Thiebaud makes "fighting" chairs that give deep-pocketed, deep sea fishermen a fighting chance against mammoth marlins.
Mr. Thiebaud, a school teacher and certified principal by training, started Nautical Design 27 years ago as a hobby, capitalizing on an interest in a sport he cultivated during a few offshore fishing trips with friends. About a dozen years ago, he quit his job with the Seneca Valley school district to pursue the business full-time.
Nautical Design produces more than the stainless steel-framed fighting chairs that fishermen sit in while wrestling with the catch of the day, which can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds.
The Butler County company also makes cabinets used to stow gear on board boats from 18 to more than 100 feet long as well as "rocket launchers," racks used to hold rods so fishermen can run more than one line at a time.
A few years ago, Mr. Thiebaud started Hoplite Boats, which makes roomy, lightweight, 16-foot skiffs for the region's bass fishermen. The business gives him some customers who pursue smaller fish in shallower waters.
"There's not many fighting chairs on the Monongahela," the 57-year-old said in the measured cadence of a patient fisherman.
"We do sell to people here, but usually they have their boats down in North Carolina, Florida, the islands or some place like that."
Mr. Thiebaud declined to disclose Nautical Design's annual sales. He estimated about 80 percent of his business comes from word of mouth or sportsmen doing word searches on Google or other search engines. That's why being landlocked is not a handicap.
"With the Internet, it doesn't matter where you're at," he said. "Your website is really your store front."
He also drums up business at boat shows held annually in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Atlantic City and Annapolis. Customers from Latin and South America who attend the shows come "ready to buy," he said. Nautical Design has customers in Europe, but not as many as it had before the U.S. dollar gained strength against the euro.
Mr. Thiebaud's clientele includes singer Jimmy Buffett and actor Burt Reynolds. Singer Billy Joel once stopped by the company's booth at the Annapolis show a few years ago, but he didn't order anything, Mr. Thiebaud said.
The fish who do bite have one thing in common: discretionary income. In addition being able to afford their boats, they will pay $8,000 to $9,000 for a top-of-the-line fighting chair. With other outfitters, they'll drop $2,500 to $5,000 for a rod and reel. And they'll shell out $400 for gasoline, which gives them enough for one day of trolling the waters 60 or 70 miles off coast.
"The price of gasoline really affects what we do," Mr. Thiebaud said.
His customers aren't recession-proof. Nautical Design's pre-recession work force of 14 has been trimmed to four, plus some part-time help.
To reduce costs and improve efficiency, he has outsourced much of the fabrication to local companies that use computer-guided lasers to shape stainless steel, plastic and other materials into components that are assembled into finished products at his plant.
Some fabrication, the assembly and painting are done at his shop. The process is geared to producing chairs and other gear that will stand up to salt water and prolonged exposure to the sun. The high gloss finish on teak seats used on fighting chairs comes from 19 coats of three different polyurethanes, a process Mr. Thiebaud said takes four or five days to complete.
He taught himself most of what he knows about making the products. Guided by his instincts as a deep sea fisher, Mr. Thiebaud visited marinas and boat shows, listening to others who love the sport. It helped that he worked summers for his father, who was an upholsterer, and that both of his grandfathers were cabinet makers.
Mr. Thiebaud is also self-taught when it comes to business. He graduated in 1976 with a teaching degree from Slippery Rock University, got a master's degree from Duquesne University and a principal certificate from Youngstown State.
"I wish I had taken some business and accounting classes. It would have saved me a lot of money and headaches," he said.
First Published January 27, 2012 12:00 am
