International Boat Industry – June-July 2019

74 JUNE–JULY 2019 | International Boat Industry ibinews.com

Markets & Regions

OVERVIEW | NEW ZEALAND

THE SUM OF AUDIO INNOVATION

with notable growth in the uptake by US-based fire

departments of Sealegs as a key part of their fleets

as well as strong demand in recreational markets

such as the UK and Australia,” says Sealegs digital

marketing specialist Henry Moore.

It is estimated that the alloy trailer boat market

makes up over 66% of new boat sales and one of the

market leaders is McLay Boats. Steve McLay reports

that they have had a hectic 12 months both on the

domestic front and export.

“We see a large increase in the hardtop market

and a decrease in the cuddy cabin boat market,

with all size hardtops increasing in popularity and

I expect this trend to continue for at least another

year,” says McLay.

Exports of boats to Australia are continuing to

grow steadily with the same hardtop trend emerging

except for Northern Queensland where they sell a lot

of Open Fortress models.

“We have just taken on a new Sydney dealer

and with new features being added to the current

range and a very special new model about to hit the

market we are expecting a busy year coming up,”

says McLay.

ENGINE SALES HOLDING

WHEN FURUNO RECENTLY increased its

shareholding in ENL, it meant a big boost for ENL’s

own WASSP multibeam sonar product.

“WASSP was our own multibeam sonar product

that we develop and manufacture in New Zealand

started as a product for the commercial fishing

industry but has now developed further into the

recreational sector,” says Gareth Hodson – ENL

Group managing director.

WASSP made a statement in the commercial

WASSP EXPORTS ON RISE

Outboard imports were also up with 9,062 outboard

motors imported during 2018, a 13% increase on

the previous year, and a 10-year high. Mercury and

Yamaha dominated the market, with substantial

gains from the other leading brands Suzuki, Honda

and Evinrude. Electric outboards such as Torqeedo

and ePropulsion have recently been introduced to

the NZ market, and while sales are steady, there is

still some hesitation from local buyers. However,

there has been keen interest, from the commercial

sector for the diesel outboards from COX and OXE,

both of which have appointed local agents.

Approximately 400 marine diesel engine sales

fishing market where it became the number one in

the world for multibeam sounder technology.

“Furuno recognised what we had been

doing here in New Zealand for the past 50 years.

Growing your export business is not for the faint-

hearted, and it requires a lot of capital to establish

markets and increase R&D capabilities,” added

Hodson.

He points out that while they could have

continued down the long and challenging

path independently, by partnering with Furuno

they have a global channel to market and the

resources to support ENL’s capital and engineering

requirements to grow WASSP globally. “Effectively

now we are Furuno New Zealand (a subsidiary of

the manufacturer Furuno), looking after the New

Zealand and South Pacific markets and Furuno

is our distributor for WASSP in 24 countries,” says

Hodson.

The reason Furuno have gone over the 51%

investment threshold in ENL is because they are a

public company and their intent is to invest in the

R&D in New Zealand to increase not only WASSP’s

capabilities but also as a joint venture in Furuno

products.

“Since establishing WASSP in Europe, out of

the UK with a dedicated sales and marketing team,

export sales have grown exponentially. This is

based on having a presence in Europe.

“We can also attribute it to our new generation

of product with higher accuracy and performance

capabilities. In addition to establishing a stronghold

in the commercial fishing market, we’re seeing

growth in the superyacht sector with WASSP W3

(WASSP Wireless) and the hydrographic & survey

sector with WASSP S3 (Survey Mapping),” says

Hodson.

This positive growth trajectory has given

shareholders and investors in the company the

confidence for further investment into R&D in New

Zealand. With significant growth in all markets, ENL

has experienced record export numbers in their

73-year history.

wassp.com

 L-R Gareth Hodson, former minister of

defence Jonathan Coleman, and Mike Koike,

senior managing director of Furuno Electric Co,

at the First Tranche Celebration New Zealand

back in 2014

 Demand for Sealegs

amphibious boats

continues to be strong

both in New Zealand and

globally