Soundings Trade Only: the three families behind Aquila

A brand built by three families 

In the August issue of Soundings Trade Only, senior editor David Conway traces Aquila back to an empty plot of land in Hangzhou, China, where Lex Raas stood before there was a factory, a model line, or a brand. Raas founded Aquila in 2012 with two partners he already knew well: MarineMax, then led by Bill McGill, and the Xiong family's Sino Eagle Group — each bringing a different piece: innovation, distribution, and manufacturing.

The feature follows what came of that. The Xiong family built the Hangzhou shipyard before a single production boat had sold. Jean Raas, Aquila's CEO and chief product officer, describes the work of moving the power catamaran from niche idea to mainstream, a lineup that now spans 28 to 70 feet with more than 1,000 boats delivered and dealers in 88 countries. And the second generation running the business today already has a third coming up behind it, learning the boats from the factory floor.