When Maine Maritime Academy’s training vessel State of Maine docks in Barcelona, Spain, later this month on its annual training cruise, it will be carrying with it a display promoting boats built in its home-port state.

Maine Built Boats Inc., the nonprofit organization created to promote the state’s boat-building industry, will make its first official foray into international markets during a reception scheduled as part of the ship’s visit to Spain. The State of Maine left Castine on May 3.

The targeted trade mission is a low-impact way for the company to test the European waters, according to Paul Rich, president of Maine Built Boats in Edgecomb. The three-day visit could lead to an expanded presence in Europe and could involve participation in boat shows in the Mediterranean within the next couple of years.

Rich, who also serves on the board of trustees at Maine Maritime Academy, plans to meet the training ship in Barcelona and will greet local dignitaries, politicians, business leaders and educators on board during a reception scheduled for May 16.

“We know that the best boats in the world are made here in Maine and we are ready to compete on a global level,” Rich said recently. “The goal is to generate sales of Maine-built boats and provide leads for future orders. The Mediterranean is a great potential market for Maine Built Boats and we’ve already had some encouraging success. We believe that with an increased presence and targeted marketing, along with the advantages of European currency exchange rates, we will capture an even larger piece of the overseas market.”

Marketing and expanding Maine’s boat-building industry is the top priority of Maine Built Boats, said Jack Cashman, commissioner of the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development.

“The successful working relationship between government, private industry and the educational sector is going to propel Maine’s marine-related industries to the next level in the global economy,” Cashman said.

The display that will be featured at the Barcelona reception is one the company uses at boat shows. It is a 20-foot-by-8-foot panel showing views of different boats built in Maine.

“We think it captures a lot of what we try to communicate about the quality and spirit of boats built in Maine,” Rich said.

The goal of the display, he said, is to draw people to the company Web site where they can learn a little about the state and the industry and even look over individual member boatyards.

The trip to Spain kicks off the spring boating season for the company, which is in its second year of existence. The nonprofit company was created last year as a collaborative effort between the state and a group of boat builders to promote the state’s industry, which accounts for $600 million a year, as a unified brand.

The first year was a “start-up” year, according to Rich, which saw Maine Built Boats’ incorporation in Maine, creation of a Web site and the doubling of membership from the initial 23 members to 43 current members. Rich said the company now represents a wide spectrum from “larger yards to medium-size yards to very small yards.”

Although the international effort is an exciting step for the fledgling company, it is not Maine Built Boats’ only effort, nor even its main focus this year.

Boat shows will play a role in this year’s strategic plan. Rich said the firm plans to attend several shows on the East Coast this year, at Newport, R.I., and Annapolis, Md., as well as shows in Maine, including the Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Show in Rockland.

“That show gives us a chance to show boats in the water,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to bring people to Maine in mid-August when the state is at its peak. The idea is to bring people into the state who might not otherwise come here. We want to get them excited about buying a boat here.”

On a smaller scale, Rich said he hopes to bring individuals or small groups of potential customers to launchings at select boatyards as a way to introduce them to the industry.

The company’s main focus this year, however, will be to develop a marketing plan that will guide future promotional efforts. The company already has commissioned a study of the industry that will provide baseline information about boat building in Maine, including employment, revenues and market demographics as well as areas where there are deficiencies.

That study, due to be completed by fall, will provide the basis for a marketing plan to grow the state’s boat-building industry in the coming decade and beyond. Boat building could grow to a $1 billion industry in Maine within 10 years, according to some industry predictions. That growth would affect other areas of the state’s economy, particularly in the auxiliary businesses that support boat building in Maine, Rich said.

“There’s recognition in the state that boat building can be a key catalyst in economic growth,” he said. “If we expand the pie to include the Northeast, Europe and the international market, that growth is going to have a carry-over effect that will have a positive outcome for all those support companies that are a big part of the economy as well.”

Maine Built Boats is counting on funding from the state and hopes to tap into a portion of the $15 million Workforce Innovation Regional Economic Development grant that Maine was awarded earlier this year.

Gov. John Baldacci already has said grant funds will be used to support the boat-building industry. Earlier this month, the governor said specifically that grant funds would be used to expand the educational and training opportunities for those who pursue careers in the marine trades and to create high-quality jobs.

The lack of a trained work force is one of the main problems facing the state’s boat-building industry, Rich said, and it is a problem that could short-circuit the planned growth in that manufacturing sector which has been among the healthiest in the state.

“If we can’t meet the increase in activity with a qualified work force, we’re not doing anyone any favors,” Rich said.

Maine Built Boats will work with the state, the University of Maine and the community college system to develop and put in place a plan that will help to create boat building as a career path, he said.

“We want people to see boat building as a career, to know that they can stay in the state they love and do what they enjoy doing as a career, not just as a part-time or transitional job,” he said. “We need to get the word out to kids in high school and junior high and elementary school that they can work and have a career in this state as a boat builder.”