http://www.ibi-plus.com International Boat Industry | JUNE–JULY 2018 51
WThe G.Com VHF
marine transceiver
from GMEAQUALUMA
Since 2004, Aqualuma has perfected the art form of
underwater lighting and the company’s LEDs are the
lights of choice for many of the world’s leading boat
manufacturers. Run by brothers Carl and Grant Amor,
Aqualuma has enjoyed a strong local as well as an export
base, with the US being their biggest single market.
“Europe is coming back and we are seeing other
markets such as Asia developing, along with steady
sales numbers in Australia and New Zealand,” says
Carl Amor.
Amor says that Aqualuma is a
genuinely global company
which operates sales and
service centres in Europe,
Asia, the UAE, Oceania
and the Americas.
“Our products are
patented worldwide
and distributed in
over 52 countries,
but we remain
proudly designed
and manufactured in
Australia,” he adds.
A recent change is to
how the product is being
marketed in the US.
“We are moving
away from a reliance on mass retailers to market our
products in the US, to strengthening relationships
with distributors, including new master US distributor
CWR, and in California, Western Marine Marketing
(WMM),” says Amor.
“Mass retailers, like West Marine, certainly play
an important role in our industry for a wide range of
boating products,” says Alexandra Bader, Aqualuma
head of sales for North and South America. “However,
Aqualuma customers deserve the level of technical
expertise and support from CWR, WMM and other
qualified distributors that mass retailers simply cannot
provide,” she adds.
This new relationship gives both CWR and WMM
the opportunity to stock the entire Aqualuma lighting
range and make it available to thousands of dealers
in the US. WMM has been representing Aqualuma
since 2005 and other leading marine equipment and
accessories manufacturers on the west coast since 1982.GME
Standard Communications, more commonly known
as GME, is a privately owned Australian company
established in 1959. The marine division specialises
in the design and manufacture of a wide rangeof electronic products for both recreational and
professional markets.
“Over the next 12 months, GME will introduce some
innovative, cost-effective marine electronic products,
including a new range of 406 MHz EPIRBs and PLBs,
VHF Radios, and marine entertainment systems.
These products are engineered to withstand not only
the harsh marine environment, but also meet stringent
safety and type approval requirements of regulatory
authorities around the globe,” says a spokesman for
the company.HYDRIVE
“HyDrive’s exports are continuing to grow steadily
in our traditional markets as the world’s general
economic situation improves and with a relatively
stable Australian currency at a more realistic level,” says
Richard Chapman, managing director of Coursemaster
Autopilots & Hydrive Engineering.
“The local market is also expanding as the benefit
of the lower exchange rate sees imports at less
competitive prices.”
The new range of steering developed and released
by HyDrive over the last 1-2 years has been a huge
success in the field and have introduced products that
are of the highest quality and performance at very
competitive prices. HyDrive’s huge product range
caters to all types of boats from 5m to over 200m and
ensures that there is a sector of the market for HyDrive
virtually anywhere in the world.
“Traditional markets include the UK, Europe, South
Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Central and South East Asia,
New Zealand, the Pacific and the USA. Newer markets
include areas in South America, Northern Europe and
Russia where leisure industries are beginning to appear
with small boat manufacturers etc,” says Chapman.
He points out that HyDrive’s reputation for quality
and performance is well established and is one of the
key elements in opening doors to new markets as well as
maintaining and growing market share in existing ones.LIFE CELL
Jenny Aiken, CEO of Life Cell Marine Safety, is positive
about the market and reports that revenue in 2017
FY grew by 170% from 2016 FY. This was coming off a
lower base as a startup business.
“Our major markets are those with access to open
water, high numbers of registered boats and reasonable
safety standards. North America, therefore, is our
largest market and where we concentrate our efforts.
The other market of significant interest is Scandinavia
where there are large numbers of registered vessels,A-Z OF LEADING AUSTRALIAN
EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS:STurning lighting into an
art form at Aqualuma