I’m pounding away at the keys four days after returning from Metstrade, the marine equipment trade show held each year at the cavernous RAI in Amsterdam. To say this year’s event was spectacular really doesn’t capture the buzz and enthusiasm I felt during the three-day event, which is often called “The Greatest Trade Show on Earth.”
Anyone with a set of eyeballs could tell when the doors opened that we were about to experience something exceptional. People lined up in the main lobby, pushing and shoving as if they were in a general admission crowd at a Phish show. Other folks backed up past the credential gates, with a line extending into the cold, wet Amsterdam weather as the clock ticked down to the official start time.
The numbers paint a vivid picture. The 36th installment of the show hosted nearly 1,600 exhibitors across 12 halls and received 31,824 visits from 19,779 unique visitors. Attendance increased 10% and 6%, respectively, compared with 2023, the previous high mark. Attendance records were surpassed each day of the show.
Once things got underway, the massive halls filled quickly with excited showgoers. I spent an afternoon with our tech columnist, Ben Stein, who showed me methanol and diesel fuel cells that may be the future of generator replacements; a zinc replacement system that doesn’t leech harmful heavy metals into the water; and other tech that will no doubt make boating easier and more enjoyable.
Along that same decarbonization theme, I am excited to welcome propulsion expert Charles Plueddeman to the Soundings Trade Only contributor team. He attended the Specialty Equipment Market Association show for us in November, reporting on Yamaha’s efforts to bring hydrogen fuel into the marine propulsion arena. I asked him to find out why the outboard manufacturer is showing so much interest in the sustainable fuel and what they see in the roadmap going into 2025. The answers appear on Page 28.
And speaking of tech, I was amped to host an interview with Brunswick Corp. chief technology officer and Navico Group president Aine Denari in the Soundings Trade Only USA Connect Lounge at Metstrade. More than 60 people attended as Denari provided useful insights on the future of technology, the state of chip supply, innovation, the condition of the global supply chain and much more.
I also had a chance to interview Eric Braitmayer, president and CEO of marine equipment supplier Imtra, in the Soundings Trade Only booth. I first met him more than 30 years ago, when I was a wholesale marine rep at Fawcett Boat Supplies in Annapolis, Md. I’ve always been impressed by Imtra’s equipment SKUs, more than a few of which ended up on my own boats.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the interview was Braitmayer’s explanation of the who, what, when and where of the company’s recent employee stock ownership program, which is progressively turning over ownership of the organization to its approximately 80 employees. I learned from Braitmayer that they can be an excellent way for family-owned businesses in the industry to cash out and take care of their employees at the same time. Take a look at the interview on Page 6.
Lots of folks at the show were talking about what 2025 might bring for the global marine industry. Potential tariffs imposed by the incoming Trump administration on important raw materials were top among the concerns I heard, along with anxiety about a possible economic downturn. Additionally, I heard lots of talk about continuing efforts to decarbonize the recreational boating fleet, with the International Council of Marine Industry Associations and the National Marine Manufacturers Association announcing a continued commitment to the program for 2025. Contributor Kim Kavin provides a complete 2025 outlook with loads of industry analysis from experts on Page 20.
A pain point for dealers during the past year, following the Covid boat-buying boom, has been the one-two punch of inflated inventory and higher-than-normal floorplan financing rates. This combination has been a continuing theme in our monthly Pulse Report, which you can read on Page 95.
Also for this issue, our new senior editor, David Conway, interviewed industry experts and dealers to learn what they expect in the new year. His reporting appears on Page 24, and it provides excellent insight into industry-wide problems.
What I see as we head into the new year is experts unified in saying we’ll endure some challenges — but the enthusiasm and interest I saw at Metstrade have to bode well for the industry overall.
