Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/629268
LAUNCH 12 | Boating Industry | February 2016 www.BoatingIndustry.com MERCURY RECEIVES SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS AWARD Mercury Marine has earned "Green Master" designation from the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council for the fifth consecutive year. Earning the Green Master designation places Mercury among the top 20 percent of the nearly 200 participating companies. Few have received the designation five consecutive years. "Manufacturing and operating our business in a highly sustainable fashion remain integral and important aspects of our culture and our actions," said John Pfeifer, Mercury president. "We constantly strive to decrease our carbon footprint, minimize our use of natural resources and energy, and implement programs and activities that benefit our employees and the communities in which we work and live." BRIG BOATS ENTERING U.S. MARKET AT MIAMI BOAT SHOW Europe-based Brig Boats will be making its debut in the U.S. market at the 2016 Miami International Boat Show. The nearly 25-year-old company says it is Europe's largest manu- facturer of recreational RIBs and claims a 70 percent share of the RIB market in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. "We participate in more than 100 boat shows a year internation- ally," said Neil Webster, chief executive officer for Brig USA and co- owner of Australia-based distributor Sirocco Marine. "We're excited to introduce our boats at this year's Miami show, and at several other shows around the country in 2016." NMMA: NEW BOAT UNIT SALES DOWN, DOLLARS UP IN CANADA NMMA released its annual Canadian Recreational Boating Statisti- cal Abstract for 2015 in January, revealing the Canadian recreational marine industry remains steady as sales increase in certain categories and boater participation rises. Overall, there were 38,000 new boats sold during 2015 with an estimated retail value of $2.1 billion. These figures represent a 5.4 percent decline in new unit sales and a 3.8 percent increase in retail dollar sales from 2014. Canadians purchased 64,312 pre-owned boats in 2015 totaling $1.06 billion in retail dollar sales. These figures represent a 7 percent increase in unit sales and a 21.2 percent increase in dollars from 2014. While there were declines in new boat sales across nearly all categories, sales of new personal watercraft units were up 10.5 per- cent. New boat unit sales declines were spread across nearly all provinces in 2015 except Manitoba, which saw a slight increase of 0.7 percent over 2014. Meanwhile, in 2015, outboard engine unit sales increased in nearly all provinces/territories that had significant volume except Quebec (down 3.1 percent), Saskatchewan (down 9.6 percent), and the Northwest Territories (down 28.1 percent). The declines in these three parts of the country offset growth in others. Subsequently, na- tional outboard engine sales were relatively unchanged from 2014 (both units and dollars down 0.1 percent). It is estimated that 43 percent of Canadian adults went boating at least once during 2015, which translates to 12.4 million boaters. MARINEMAX INTRODUCING GALEON YACHTS TO U.S. MARKET MarineMax is partnering with Galeon Yachts to introduce the brand to the U.S. market and become the exclusive Galeon Yachts representative throughout the Americas. "We were determined to find a brand that could successfully com- pete with the more affordable pleasure yachts that recently began being imported in the market. After extensive research and the rec- ommendation of our friends at Volvo Penta, we discovered Galeon Yachts and their many satisfied customers," said Chuck Cashman, MarineMax executive vice president of sales, marketing and manu- facturer relations. MarineMax will carry 10 Galeon models from 38 to 66 feet in- cluding the Galeon 500 Fly which won the 2015 IBI Boat Builders "Innovative On-Board Solution" category. T-H MARINE NAMES NEW DIRECTOR OF MARKETING T-H Marine Supplies, Inc. has named Jimmy Mason as its new director of marketing. Mason will manage all aspects of marketing, including advertis- ing, marketing materials, promotions, website, social media, tour- nament sponsorships and professional angler sponsorships for the Huntsville, Ala., company. "We are extremely excited to have Jimmy join our team," said T-H Marine president and CEO Jeff Huntley. "This guy is a true angler and boater, and one heck of a promoter. Jimmy has been a professional fisherman, fishing guide and industry promoter for over 25 years. He has earned the respect of all of the media outlets and professionals." "I am excited to join the team at T-H Marine" said Mason. "I have worked with them over the past several years as an angler and have got to know a lot of the team. I always respected their innovations and teamwork. I look forward to working to increase the exposure and sales of all our brands and products." INDUSTRY NEWS Continued from page 11