Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based OceanLED USA LLC, LED-lighting specialists for the marine industry, is relocating to new office space that accommodates the company’s business growth. The new 3,800-square-foot office in Deerfield Beach, Fla., will provide additional space for OceanLED’s sales, technical support, marketing department and warehouse.

Sponsored by the Marine Fabricators Association, the Fabrication Excellence Awards contest is designed to recognize excellence in marine fabrication.

Security officer. Receptionist. Greeter. Tour guide. “Shop dogs” play a variety of important roles at fabrication operations. We invited readers to submit photos of their shop assistants; here is our first gallery. 1. Penelope and Shaina Owners: Kenny Locke and Stephanie McLauchlan Company: Canvas Supply Co. Location: Seattle, Wash. 2. Chase Owner: Diane Buswell Company: [...]

A steady hand and a fallback plan can keep even best-laid plans from veering too far off course. Deadlines can paralyze, but it’s worth taking the time to analyze the situation. Use these questions to think through the issue: Am I facing a deadline or a target? A deadline is fixed, and implies some degree [...]

As you read this, I hope you’ve written down and are applying the goals you targeted for 2015.

By Don Racine At many shops, the person doing the sewing is the same person who tore apart the old upholstery and will be the one who installs the newly sewn skin. However, in many other shops there are multiple workers involved in the same project. In this case, communication between the person sewing and [...]

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas Educational Foundation exceeded its goal of raising $20,000 in 2014 to provide financial support for education, training and professional development in the recreational marine trades. “We are inspired by the generosity that allowed the foundation to reach this critical milestone in 2014,” said Liz Walz, MRAA director of [...]

NMMA Canada has inducted Victor Duhamel and Carl Dewar, owners of Legend Boats, into the NMMA Hall of Fame, its highest honor. The hall was established in 1988 and recognizes individuals who have, or continue to generate, substantial and lasting contributions toward the advancement of the marine industry. It honors individuals whose names and deeds [...]

Michigan State University’s Capital News Service reports the federal government has awarded $471,000 to the Michigan Sea Grant that includes money to help Great Lakes coastal communities in the state devise ways to attract tourists to local harbors for recreational boating. Sea Grant will select four communities around Michigan to participate in the study over [...]

Citing demand for its new L-Class yachts, Knoxville, Tenn.-based boatmaker Sea Ray will reactivate its Sykes Creek manufacturing facility in Merritt Island, Fla., this summer. Hiring began in January; the company expects to create up to 100 new jobs over the next 12 months.