Les chantiers AMEL is created in La Rochelle when Henri AMEL, who until then had been entrusting the construction of his yachts to external yards, takes over the company ARPIN (Ateliers Rochelais de Polyester Industriel et Naval), based in the Ville en Bois district. At the time he had over forty employees, including his designer Jacques Carteau, the future technical director then right hand man of Mr. Amel, then CEO of Chantiers AMEL. Since 1962 AMEL has also had a base in the Mediterranean, in the new port at Hyères.
The La Rochelle workshops produced the Copain, the Pampero, the Super Mistral Sport and the Euros 39.
As a pioneer in polyester construction, AMEL manufactures its boats using its own glass fibre, assembling via stratification internal bulkheads, deck and hull in a single piece, forming a perfectly waterproof and highly resistant structure.