Nicolas Groleau is a shipyard man as much as a seaman. At 19, he began working in boatbuilding, steeped in the great Breton tradition of composite construction and custom work. The Great Storm of 1987 in Brittany marked a turning point: boatyards were hiring en masse, and Nicolas honed his craft there.
In 1996, he co-founded with Jean-Pierre Souviron the yard JPS Production in La Trinité-sur-Mer (Kemarquer industrial zone). The first boat rolled out of the sheds in 1998: an Open 7.50, the first in a series that established the JPS signature — sandwich composite infusion, tight tolerances, industrial production of racing prototypes.
In 2005, Nicolas met naval architect Samuel Manuard. Their collaboration would transform the Class 40 class: starting in 2010, JPS launched production of the Mach 40, the first in a lineage that still dominates the class today (Mach 40.1, 40.2, 40.3, 40.4, 40.5, 40.6). Since 2011, JPS Production has focused almost exclusively on Class 40s — at the 2019 Transat Jacques Vabre, the top four boats were built in their yard.
Alongside his builder role, Nicolas is also an amateur skipper. His personal mount: the Mach 45 Cartouche (later renamed BT Blue, formerly Bretagne Télécom), co-designed with Sam Manuard and launched in 2006. Building the boat he sails himself: the loop is complete.
Racing achievements: two-time Rolex Fastnet Race winner in IRC Canting Keel class under the name Cartouche, winner of the 2018 Armen Race IRC 1 racing as Bretagne Télécom. A sporting career that never kept him from running a yard that produces Class 40 benchmarks — from the Mach 40.4 Redman to the Class 40 Crédit Mutuel #158 (first Class 40 scow, 2019), via successive generations Edenred, IBSA, Solano, Swift and the brand-new Mach 40.6 Bleu Blanc #205 (2024).
Official JPS Production website: jps-production.com.
