Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/644484
LAUNCH 12 | Boating Industry | March 2016 www.BoatingIndustry.com INDUSTRY NEWS Continued from page 11 HOT SPOTS Wilmington, NC 19.4% New York, NY 9.3% team than we anticipated. As a result, we wouldn't be able to pro- duce the kind of event our attendees or exhibitors have come to expect, and without a top-notch product we decided not to move ahead with the boat show this year," said Dave Geoffroy, director of the San Francisco Boat Show. LIPPERT ACQUIRES HIGHWATER MARINE FURNITURE BUSINESS Drew Industries Incorporated announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Lippert Components, Inc., has acquired the business and certain assets of the pontoon furniture manufacturing operation of Highwater Marine, LLC. The boat brands comprising Highwater's businesses were recently acquired by Elkhart-based Bennington through its acquisition of Nau- tic Global Group. Revenue of the marine furniture business acquired from Highwater Marine for the 12 months ended December 2015 was estimated to be $20 million. IBEX NAMES DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION The International BoatBuilders' Exhibition & Confer- ence announced that Sarah Devlin has accepted the role of IBEX Director of Education. IBEX will be held October 4-6, 2016, at the Tampa Convention Center, Tampa. "Sarah's expertise in creating and managing a quality technical marine education program combined with excellent marketing and social media skills make her a perfect fi t for this position and we are thrilled to welcome Sarah back to the team as the director of educa- tion," said Anne Dunbar, show director of IBEX. RBFF: AWARENESS OF 'TAKE ME FISHING' CAMPAIGN AT ALL-TIME HIGH A new study released by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) reveals that awareness of its Take Me Fishing brand logo is higher than ever, with recall up to 52 percent from 43 percent a year ago. Brand awareness among lapsed anglers took the greatest leap, increasing in one year from 10 percent to 40 percent, with brand awareness across all groups holding steady above 40 percent. The study tracked the campaign's gains through different media channels used to reach audience groups, including TV, print, online and social media. The study also confi rmed that adults are far more likely to fi sh if they fi shed when they were a child. Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 14.1% Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 9.8% Fort Myers, FL 6.3% Jacksonville, FL 12.1% Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL 3.4% Houston, TX 2.0% Aluminum pontoons report solid growth Sales growth of outboard-powered fi berglass saltwater fi shing boats between 14 and 44 feet hit 8.19 percent in the rolling 12-month period ending December 2015, according to data from Statistical Surveys. The saltwater fi shing segment continues to show solid growth in the East Coast. The largest sales growth occurred in Wilmington, N.C. with 19.43 percent. This was followed by double-digit sales growth in three Florida regions: Sarasota-Bradenton, West Palm Beach-Boca Raton and Jacksonville, at 14.11, 13.32 and 12.11 percent, respectively. Sales growth also hit 1.95 percent in Houston. Mobile, AL 5.6% Wilmington, NC New York, NY New York, NY Jacksonville, FL West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL 13.3%