History

History POCHON

The 1970s and 80s

1970

Création de l'entreprise

Creation of the company

Pierre Pochon, a radio electronics technician, founded the marine electronics company, which then employed 5 people.
The customers were fishermen from the Ile d'Oléron.
The equipment Radio Océan was rented out and maintenance had to be carried out during the tides.

1973

Estate

Alain Pochon, his son, takes over the business.
New equipment is arriving on the electronics market: FURUNO for radars, depth sounders and sonars, and ROBERTSON for automatic pilots.

1975 / 1979

POCHON s'extends

The POCHON company extended its activities to pleasure boating, a brand new sector for marine electronics, and ocean racing, setting up its first shop at the Quai du Gabut in La Rochelle in 1979.

1988 / 1989

Nouveaux locaux

New premises

New premises were inaugurated in 1989 on the business park near the port of Les Minimes.

Need more information?

Find our contact details: address, telephone number and email address on our dedicated page

Contact
POCHON History: The 90s
1993 / 1995
New branches
The opening of a branch in Hyères in 1993, followed by one in Pointe à Pitre in 1995, was a response to Alain Pochon's desire to offer a comprehensive service to construction site customers and private individuals.
1997
Company buyout
Acquisition of a marine electricity company in the port of La Pallice in La Rochelle. This new POCHON PROFESSIONNEL entity, with an annex on the Ile d'Oléron, completes the company's comprehensive electronics/marine electricity offering. A workshop for the manufacture of custom-made or mass-produced electrical panels completes the business.
1999
First storm
The first storm sweeps through the Pochon SA premises. The stock was completely destroyed. Thanks to the help of our suppliers and the confidence of our customers, the company was able to restart its business.
Discover the company and the history of POCHON

With more than 50 years of experience, POCHON benefits from the leadership
in the marine electronics and electricity market

Find out more
POCHON History: The 2000s

2000 / 2007

POCHON is expanding

POCHON SA continues to expand in the world of marine electronics. New import cards from NAVICONTROL for autopilots, COBRA for marine VHFs and SCHENKER for watermakers have enabled the company to develop a new business sector: distribution in the Channel, Atlantic and Mediterranean. The yachting industry is booming, and boatyards are operating at full capacity. At the time, the POCHON group employed around 80 people.

2008 / 2010

Deuxième tempête

Second storm

The first global economic crisis forced the entire nautical industry to reposition itself. The POCHON Group, thanks to its various business sectors, held up well, but was hit twice in February 2010 by storm Xynthia at its 2 La Rochelle sites. The sea completely destroyed the stock, workshops, IT systems and shops of POCHON SA and POCHON PROFESSIONNEL. Thanks to the solidarity of our staff, suppliers and customers, we were able to resume our business.

Souvenir photos

Our photo album

premier salon électronique marine
POCHON communication
carte bateau
GPS bateau
collaborateurs
POCHON pêche
POCHON History: The 2010s
2011
New branches
Opening of a new branch in Martinique, a new Caribbean destination for our customers, and an office in La Grande Motte.
2012
Estate
Alain POCHON takes a well-deserved retirement and leaves the helm to his son Julien POCHON, an EIGSI engineer, who is appointed Managing Director of POCHON SA.
2013 +
Reorganisation
Julien POCHON has reorganised and rejuvenated his teams, giving an even greater role to technical services for major shipyards. At the same time, his training as an engineer has enabled him to develop the manufacturing of the electrical workshop and to integrate more and more marine electricity with marine electronics, for a 'global' offer to private and professional customers. A new generation for a group that's always moving forward!
0
+
Years of experience
0
+
Customers
0
+
Projects
0
+
Employees
Julien POCHON

JULIEN POCHON

Born in 1975, Julien POCHON is married with 2 children.
After completing his engineering studies at EIGSI, he worked at Brissonneau et Lotz Marine in the electrical department, designing mooring winches for ocean liners.

In 1999 he joined POCHON PRO, where he was in charge of electrical design, automation and ship safety.

He was then put in charge of the Electricity design office, while at the same time programming the man-machine interfaces and PLCs for high-speed vessels, hydrographic buoy tenders, motorboats and sailyachts.
Manager of POCHON PROFESSIONNEL, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of POCHON SA in 2012.

Alain POCHON

ALAIN POCHON

Born in 1952, self-taught, married with two children, Alain Pochon is a pioneer in the field of marine electronics and yachting. Not only has he been able to develop his company, creating more than 80 jobs, but he is also a major player in the nautical sector, with many other activities.

In 1988 he became a member of the Grand Pavois Association and has been its President since 1994. He has made the Grand Pavois one of the most important international in-water boat shows. It was under his impetus that the Grand Pavois opened up to new activities linked to ocean racing. A policy of opening up to young people with the creation of the gliding and sailing area represents a key challenge for the future of the nautical industry.

He was also Chairman of Crédit Maritime and the Coopérative Maritime du port de pêche de La Rochelle.

email I 05 46 41 30 53
en_GB
fr_FR en_GB