12 DECEMBER 2015 | International Boat Industry http://www.ibi-plus.com
HEADLINES Boat Builder Awards
SThe winners that made it a night to rememberStars shine at first-ever Boat
Builder Awards in Amsterdam
NETHERLANDS MORE
THAN 200 INDUSTRY
professionals from around
the globe gathered under the
spectacular glittering dome
of the Amsterdam Maritime
Museum in November to hear
which companies had been
crowned winners of the first-
ever Boat Builder Awards for
Business Achievement.
Held in association
with Raymarine, and
organised jointly by IBI and
METSTRADE, the awards were
designed to recognise all that’s
truly innovative and game-
changing in the leisure
marine industry.
Paolo Vitelli, founder and
chairman of Italy’s Azimut
Benetti Group, was presented
with a Lifetime Achievement
Award, sponsored by Sleipner,
during the gala dinner. Joining
Vitelli in the winners circle
was Monte Carlo Yachts, which
picked up the Innovation in
a Production Process Award,
sponsored by Whale, for its
game-changing modular
production technique that
enables semi-customised
boats to be built up to 50%
more quickly on a full-scale
production line.
Dominator was named
winner of the Retail Marketing
Award sponsored by Saltwater
for its Ilumen Virtual Reality
system with the judges
praising the technology as a
genuine innovation, the like
of which has not been seen
before in our business.
Galeon Yachts and the
‘beach mode’ that the judges
felt brought a little bit of
big boat functionality and
superyacht chic to its new 500
Fly, was named winner of the
Innovative On-Board Design
Solution category sponsored
by Fusion.
Brunswick Marine
EMEA’s expansion of its
Quicksilver line outside of
Europe earned it the podium
spot in the Boat Builder
International Distributor/
Dealer Development category
sponsored by Lumishore,
while Jenneau and Harken’s
three year collaboration onthe Assisted Sail Trim system,
potentially revolutionizing
cruising and shorthanded
sailing, was deemed a worthy
winner of the Boatbuilder
& Equipment Manufacturer
Collaborative Solution award,
sponsored by Ultraflex.
There were three
honourable mentions on
the night – for Karnic in the
Innovation in a production
process category for its
Smart Production Controller,
and Fairline Boats and
Falcon cracking the not
inconsiderable engineering
feat of creating frameless
windows that can be fitted to
any hull form. Mastervolt’s
CZone digital control and
monitoring network was also
commended by the judges.
“We congratulate the
winners and those shortlisted
companies that ultimately
made the event the success
that it was,” said IBI publishing
director Nick Hopkinson, who
went on to thank chairman
of the judges John Maxey,
praising the judging panel’s
efforts in whittling down the
considerable number of award
entries to find the best of the
best. “Awards to recognise
the work this industry does,
to celebrate the individuals
and innovations that make
it unique, are long overdue.
We look forward to crowning
more winners at the Boat
Builder Awards for Business
Achievement 2016.”And the
winners
were...
RETAIL MARKETING AWARD
(sponsored by Saltwater)
Winner: Dominator and
its Ilumen Virtual Reality
Technology.
•The judges felt that the
Ilumen Virtual Reality
technology provided as close
an experience of walking
through a boat without
actually stepping on board,
giving potential clients a good
sense of the possibilities of
customisation. The judges
praised the technology as a
genuine innovation.
Honourable Mention:
Boston Whaler’s 420 Outrage
launch campaign.BOAT BUILDER &
EQUIPMENT
MANUFACTURER
COLLABORATIVE SOLUTION
AWARD (sponsored by Ultraflex)
Winner: Harken and
Jeanneau for their Assisted
Sail Trim.
•Harken and Jeanneau’s
Assisted Sail Trim (AST)
makes sailing easier for
families, short-handed crews,
solo sailors, and those with
limited mobility. The result
of a three-year collaborative
effort, with Jeanneau
providing a Sun Odyssey 519