Powering Ahead-Together: The ASEA/Magnus Story

Two companies can compete for years—and still recognize when collaboration becomes the smarter engineering move.

At the Palm Beach Boat Show, host Kristina Hebert sits down with Richard Gaudet, President of ASEA Power Systems & Marine Power at Mission Critical Electronics, and Matthew Scales, Managing Director of Magnus Marine, to unpack the real story behind their new alliance—and what it signals for the future of shore power in the marine industry.

The discussion highlights the product that quickly made the partnership tangible: a dockside shore power frequency converter. ASEA contributes extensive field experience, including designs proven in South Florida hurricane conditions, while Magnus brings higher-power capabilities and expertise in containerized solutions. Together, these strengths create a scalable range of dockside converters—from 75 kVA to 250 kVA and beyond—designed to support marinas serving yachts without onboard frequency conversion. It also explores how demand is emerging at the dock, with operators such as Safe Harbor advancing dockside conversion as a standard offering.

The focus then broadens to examine key trends shaping marine electrical infrastructure. These include evolving configurations like 208V 60Hz split-phase systems, containerized solutions for space-constrained environments, and the potential role of battery energy storage in increasing effective capacity where grid limitations exist. Additional insights address the U.S. superyacht refit market, including the shift of some work to Europe and how improved dockside power solutions could help restore competitiveness among domestic refit yards. The episode concludes with a preview of new technology expected this fall and a potential follow-up at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.

Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to the Wards Way Podcast, share the episode with professionals in marine operations or marina management, and leave a review to support future discussions.

Wards Marine Electric
https://www.wardsmarine.com/

Wards Way YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@WardsWay75

Transcript

Welcome From Palm Beach Boat Show

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to the Wards Way Podcast. I'm here today with the Deputy President of AC and Matthew Skipp, Managing Director of Magnus Marine. Welcome guys. Welcome to the Palm Beach Boat Show.

SPEAKER_02 0:12

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

Appreciate it. Thank you for having us.

The Merger And Strategic Fit

SPEAKER_01 0:16

So you two have recently joined forces.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

We have.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

Tell me about that.

SPEAKER_02 0:21

So I'm the president of the Marine Division for our parent company, Mission Critical Electronics, who's been the owner of AC Power Systems for since 2016. And in late uh 24, we uh started to have some dialogue with uh with Matthew here, who is the founder and now managing director uh as well of Magnus Marine. And uh we came up with this idea of combining forces and bringing our two companies together. And um I was truly excited that Matthew was was uh as enthusiastic as as I was uh about joining our companies together. Um there's been a kind of natural um we've been friendly competition, I guess, in the in the market, but because there's uh not a tremendous amount of overlap in the product capabilities between Magnus Marine and AC Power Systems in terms of uh the power levels of shore power frequency conversion that both of our companies offer, but also new technologies that Matthew had developed with his organization around energy storage and hybrid systems. Um and so when we looked at those sort of natural overlaps and opportunities for us to be able to do more together, um it became really apparent that we could do a lot more and offer a lot more to the market together. So a year ago, beginning of March 2025, we joined our companies together. Um and so now we have uh four companies in the portfolio that serve the marine market. Uh, there's 10 companies in the entire family. And uh we're you know the first year's been exciting. Uh a lot of a lot of change uh in terms of what we're able to kind of bring to our our different uh customer base and our different end markets. So really, really excited about what the future kind of holds for us going forward for the market.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

Matthew, your take?

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Yeah, so um it's been a last year was a bit of a whirlwind because there was um not only was there the acquisition, but also in addition to that, there was um um ASIA um also gave us an opportunity to build the dockside converters to for yourself, uh which was um on you know already a very busy uh production. We were then you know 30% more busy, uh, which to be honest at the end of the year it it went through quite seamlessly to be honest, and as I say, we hit all your delivery lead times uh which you required. Um, that also included um other projects which were going through, which included quite large battery systems, which were um 2.6 megawatts worth of battery um conversion uh for a refit, um, and also another big project which we were doing at Oceanco, which um had large battery systems and uh good converters and things. So, in total, it was a uh it was a busy year. I can only imagine. But no, the um and we've come out of the end of it stronger as well. So I think now thing as the dust has settled, um everything has now become a lot more stable. Um, and now we're just trying to figure out between ASIA and Magnus where we focus on in the future, which will improve uh uh router markets and technology and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

I think it's a really incredible story for the marine industry and and and why our industry is so special. Because if I had asked the two of you, I didn't have a podcast two years ago, but if I had asked two years ago to have a podcast, the two of you sitting down, the friendly competition probably would not have been so friendly, and not because there was any animosity, but competing forces in a very small market. Um and now to see though, I think it's tremendous leadership, and I think it's wonderful for the industry to see two of the the top tier in your in your production and your manufacturing, and which I'll let you go into those those products, products that my company depends on, join forces and create a better product together and really come to market with it early. And I think it's a success story. I mean, not just because you get you guys merged and it was great, it's it's also that it's good for the industry to see that you both realize that it was better to come together and provide a better product for the boats.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

But I think the the globalization and what's happened over the past post-COVID has been so much changes. And it's good timing. And I and I believe that uh in the years to come there'll be a lot more acquisitions within the marine industry where um other similar companies overlap um and then have a contributed effort to uh re-evaluate their products and go forward as a a more of a strong united front.

Dockside Shore Power Breakthrough

SPEAKER_02 4:51

I I think that you know Matthew brings up the darkside short power converter that we uh we launched and and drowned his production floor in the in the in Q4 of last year. Um his team did a tremendous job getting that out the door. But uh, you know, if we if we go back to that short power, the dockside um short power frequency converter, it's a perfect example of how we're able to combine our forces and really bring a new product to market um that's far better and faster to the market to serve the need, faster than what AC would have been able to do on its own. So we've been working on kind of the dockside shore power converter together for for a while. We've had, you know, AC with Wards Marine has had, you know, a couple units in uh in the field uh for what, seven years now, I think. You know, small little 75 KVAs. Um and you know, while we had a development path to offering the higher power that we needed, it became immediately apparent that if we combine the technology that Magnus had in terms of its higher power capability, its experience it's had in designing dock, uh sorry, containerized solutions as well, um, along with AC's prior experience having developed a dockside shore power converter that has weathered hurricanes here in South Florida. Um, and the teams collaborated immediately. You know, the AC engineering you know team and and Magnus' engineering team uh welcomed all the ideas. I mean, really Magnus's team took those design considerations that we had from AC, and we had great experience with a product that survived hurricanes again, and they've developed this 250 KVA now a family, so so really from 75 all the way up to 250 KVA and now scaling up even beyond that. So um it's a really powerful testament that by combining the the bright minds that we have in the organization, the experiences that we have in both organizations, and we're able to bring something to market very quickly. Um and we're just excited about what more we're going to be able to do as we further technology development together as one team in you know two two locations.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

So and I think it's also serving the industry. I mean, now these these boats obviously have choices and places to go, and now finally, you know, Safe Harbor was the first facility that it that agreed, multiple facilities that agreed to say we need to have these as standard operating offerings to our clients so when they come in, if they don't have a frequency converter on board that they can plug in and be able to receive that power and and and have that as as a standard feature, that's very unique, and that's something that we should be able to to brag about and expand upon in in America.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

Yeah, I know and all over the world. When we first delivered the uh the first batch of dockside converters um to yourself um in January, um we did notice that Wards Electrical already pushing the boundaries and looking at different opportunities where um at the beginning the the boat the dock sides were only really intended, I would say, for 400 volt, 440 volt type of 50 hertz applications, being 60 hertz over here. And um the um Jason

New Voltage Options And Demand

SPEAKER_00 8:05

very quickly said, Oh, actually, what we could do is actually can we run that down to 208 volt 60 hertz and do split phase, and before you know it, it become almost a standard, but that very quickly um um um took the product and owned it, I would say, which was uh welcoming from our side as well. So we don't need to be uh um hands-on continuously, it's all would be managed by Ward uh with your engineering team.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

Well, and and it it was really exciting for us too, and I have to say they've all been commissioned, um, they've all been delivered, and now they're fighting over them. They're they're managing them throughout various facilities, and that's good because it shows that the demand was out there for them to be to be utilized and that there's plenty of room in the market for more. And so I think that we're gonna see that, and I look forward to seeing this container version that we've talked about maybe in some of the places in the Caribbean where they don't have the the dock space or necessarily the the square footage to be able to have the dock space converter, that that there could be some of some other solutions. So that's exciting. Yeah, absolutely. Bringing new product to the market and br putting your two minds together, two businesses together, is what's incredible in the story, I believe.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

Yeah, there's yeah, that we can easily uh expand

Battery Storage For Marinas

SPEAKER_00 9:15

on that. One of the we had a um two weeks ago, Super Yot UK um had a an AGM and one of the conversations they had was that in the UK we don't have as an abundance of power compared to what you've got over in the US. Can we actually convert one of the dockside converters into a small little battery system so that in so that would in increase our capacity within the marina, which at the moment is very limited by the authorities. Um so that's something which we're gonna be looking forward to in the in the coming months, um, providing some opportunities that way.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Oh, absolutely. I think that that can be used and and modeled many places across the world.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

Yeah, so it's uh another great example where we're taking some of the experiences that you know the organization Matthews team in this case, in particular with energy storage on super yachts, and now thinking about how do we take that technology and and you know support new use cases, right? Where now we've got limited power capability, can we generate and and and store energy that in a way that will serve the market better?

SPEAKER_01 10:15

So is that the the new direction that that where I know?

SPEAKER_02 10:18

We're teasing, we're teasing the market.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

That's important to always be evolving and looking at it.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

I think what's really what's really you know important is you know, obviously we can't talk you know transparently but everything we're doing kind of you know behind behind the fence, so to speak, right? But but we're really looking to advance um the industry and we want to be at that forefront and and and you know to tease the market a little bit. We you know, this fall we'll be announcing and and launching, you know, uh some pretty new um technology. So um just a little bit out there for the fall, but we've we've got a lot of work happening.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

So it sounds like we're gonna do a follow-up at the Fort Lauderdale show. Possibly. We'll see. It looks like we'll do a follow-up. You heard it here, you're gonna get the scoop. That's right. Fort Lauderdale Vote Show. So I but I but I like to hear that and I think that's

The US Refit Market Cooldown

SPEAKER_01 11:01

important. One of the themes that's been discussed a lot at the show is talking about um the American refit market. And is that something either of you, what what are your opinions on that or how do you see that?

SPEAKER_02 11:13

Yeah, I think you know, for me, you know, what I'm what I'm observing, what I'm seeing, what I'm hearing is, you know, in terms of the refit market here, is is that it's it's definitely cooled down um recently. Um, you know, there's a lot of talk about boats that are you know looking to do their larger projects and refits in Europe right now. And I think that, you know, that I look at that as a temporary sort of you know period of time that um there's a lot of real good activity happening here in South Florida in particular about you know making it inviting and exciting to bring those refits back here. And there's a lot that we can do collectively, you know, as an industry to make sure that this market is ripe and attractive for refits. Um and I think the shore power, you know, the dockside shore power converter is you know is is another example of of something that does offer um, you know, yards more capability to be able to do refits of larger vessels in particular, um here in Fort Lauderdale as well. And you know, that's just one small use case of that of that type of product, and there's so many different conversations happening, you know, about ideas to to revitalize that part of uh what has been such an important part of the economy here and an important attractive place for people to get work done.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

I agree,

Factories Capacity And Culture

SPEAKER_01 12:31

I agree. So Magnus is staying in the UK, AC is staying in the US. How does that work? Or there are we gonna just you know, you're gonna hear it here again. Are we are we cross-pollinating factories? We're we're looking at that, thinking about that.

SPEAKER_03 12:44

Yeah, those are those are things we're thinking about. Because I think that that's that's really well that really happened from day one with the dock sides, to be frankly honest. Right. Exactly where I was going with it.

SPEAKER_02 12:53

Yeah, absolutely. So there's a you know shows you right there where our minds are at. So yes, we're looking to ways to leverage our capabilities in both uh California, where our where AC's factory is, as well as in the UK where Magnus' factory is. We have a really large global customer base, right? So the US market has been incredibly important for both Magnus and AC. It's AC's home market, of course. Um both AC has got a very strong European presence with the European builders and um having capability in Europe or you know in the UK in this case, um which is still part of Europe, um guess it's closer to being able to support those customers. So, of course, we're we're looking to optimize where it makes sense. And you know, my rule of thumb with acquisitions and mergers is first rule of thumb is do no harm. You're right. We bought we we we acquired a company because we like what they do, in this case, a very high quality product, a great team of people. Like I always look at it too is like when you're when you're acquiring a company, um, the biggest asset's the people. And we happen to acquire a business that has a fantastic team, a team that Matthew, you know, has has grown up uh as the founder of that business. The culture that they have is phenomenal. And you know, day one is let's not break that, right? I mean, let's what do we what can we do instead of to build upon that? And so, you know, the the dockside converters was a perfect opportunity for us to immediately leverage capability. Um AC capacity was strained, you know, uh, you know, which is great because we also had a record year, um, back-to-back record years. Um, and and Magnus had some capacity. And um, although we we stretched the capacity, we learned what we can do.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

But what's interesting is I'm learning this now. Yeah, I did not ever get any message points that the capacity was stressed, as my what are the deadlines and can you send me? I just got lovely emails back with times that I wanted, and I will say that you responded. Correct. And that and they were absolutely shipped when you said they would be.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

It wasn't stressed, that's the wrong word, but it was uh um just just running at full full capacity.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

But you made it and you did it, and you and you learned, I'm sure, from that working collectively together and made the deadlines. That's important. Got it to market, and now we just need to expand upon that. And I can assure you I've already had many inquiries on the unit that's been sitting here. Yeah, it looks great. It does really good. Thank you. We we got that in on time too. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:28

Yeah, but but it's a great example of how you know with the with two different facilities, like one of our ideas is that for both companies we're able to be able to flex capacity. Sure. Got more capabilities now than we had before. Um, and you know, so we're we're we're really excited about how much more we can build upon that for sure.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Well, we're looking forward to the future announcements at the Fort Lauderdale boat show. I'm gonna stay tuned and hear it sooner. But thank you both for being here. Thank you both for all that you've done for our industry and working together and creating a wonderful product and many more to come.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

All right, well, thank you for having us. Many thanks.

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Thank you. Thanks. Thanks for joining us.

Future Tease And Closing

SPEAKER_03 16:06

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