Inside SOTW Mag: The Tony Chiaramonte Interview

If Tony Chiaramonte shows up at your door, chances are you’re about to have a great day. That’s because Chiaramonte, the 50-year-old part-owner of DCB Performance Boats, delivers new boats for the El Cajon, Calif., company. The DCB delivery experience includes a complete sea trial with an operational run- through of dos and don’ts for the boat’s new owner.

Chiaramonte came to DCB in 1993 and, with the exception of a five-year sojourn to Eliminator Boats from 2004 to 2009, has been there ever since. He began his career sweeping floors for company founder Dave Hemmingson and has done every job there is to do in the facility. Along the way, he has become one of the most talented and respected high-performance catamaran drivers in the boat-building world.

How would define the company culture at DCB?

We are a family. The majority of our employees have been with us 10-plus years and we’re all friends. We hang out together on the weekends. Sometimes we are too friendly—that’s a good thing and a bad thing at the same time (laughs). When I got married in 1999, 90 percent of the employees were at our wedding.

Everyone puts their heart and soul into what they’re doing. Everyone builds the boats like they’re building them for their own families. We have low turnover, which, frankly, is the main reason we’re still in California. Our employees don’t want to move, and we pay them well. After all—it’s California (laughs again).

To read the entire interview with DCB’ Tony Chiaramonte and more, subscribe to Speed On The Water digital magazine by clicking here.

Related story: Speed On The Water Digital Magazine, ‘The Interview Issue’ Goes Live