As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the total economic loss from hurricane boat damage won’t be known for months, according to Scott Croft, spokesperson for Boat Owners Association of the United States, or BoatUS, an advocacy group for recreational boaters. The largest concentration of damaged boats and docks from Hurricane Irma is expected to [...]

The National Marine Manufacturers Association’s (NMMA) New Powerboat Registrations Report has been updated through July 2017, and advance data show new powerboat registrations were up 6.1 percent year-over-year for the rolling twelve-month period through July. Highlights from the report include: All boat segments were up through July. Growth in registrations was led by the following [...]

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) will assist and continue to share news and tips for businesses impacted by hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Resources and tools for businesses and individuals in regions impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma are being coordinated by FEMA here. A list of key NMMA staff contacts can be [...]

After speaking with vendors and service providers, and with no damage to the Tampa Convention Center or surrounding hotels following Hurricane Irma, the International Boatbuilders' Exhibition and Conference (IBEX) will go on as scheduled September 19 - 21. All hotel room blocks and reservations remain unchanged, as do the pre-event workshops on Monday, September 18, and [...]

The MFA Awards are now open for entries! MFA members are being notified in advance of non-member industry professionals. Submit your best fabrication projects for an opportunity to win a Fabrication Excellence Award. Participation is simple, so submit your projects today! The deadline to submit projects will be November 30, 2017. No exceptions. Fabrication Excellence [...]

Safety Components has named Erich Schwieterman to its sales and marketing development team. In his new role, Schwieterman is responsible for sales and promotion of the company's award-winning WeatherMAX and BreakWater X performance fabrics in the marine, RV, automotive and aviation markets. Schwieterman has 12 years of experience working with outdoor fabrics. Most recently, he [...]

As Hurricane Irma potentially threatens the Tampa area, the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) has announced that the 2017 Progressive® Insurance Tampa Boat Show®, originally scheduled for September 8-10, will be postponed until October 13-15. All exhibitor space assignments will remain the same for the October dates at the Tampa Convention Center. Updated move-in and [...]

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC), The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) is offering a video series about exporting basics to help members tap into the world market. The series discusses how to find information about doing business in other countries, assessing business prospects abroad, ensuring proper payment, shipping across borders and [...]

Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), a public-private partnership that began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), officially opened its headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. The $10 million center is located near MIT, which founded AFFOA after the federal government tapped Massachusetts to lead a national textile manufacturing innovation institute. AFFOA is working to develop [...]

Knight Boat Docks of Deer Park, Wash., recently acquired pontoon dock manufacturer S-K Marine of Cusick, Wash. All S-K Marine’s full-time employees will be offered employment with Knight Boat Docks, as Knight moves S-K manufacturing from Cusick to its Deer Park plant. Knight will retain the S-K Marine brand name in marketing the pontoon docks, [...]