AMSTERDAM – The world’s largest leisure marine equipment trade exhibition returned in mid-November, attracting 1400 exhibitors from 49 countries. The three-day Metstrade event recorded 26,480 visitors of 126 nationalities.
At a time of industry-wide skill shortages, show organizers were pleased that almost a quarter of the visitors were professionals in the 18-35 age bracket.
The three-day show opened with a wake-up call. Electric aviation visionary Cory Combs said in a keynote address that the marine industry risks aggravating public wrath from sustainability activists if it drags its heels in going green.
The co-founder of Ampaire, a US start-up developing the next generation of hybrid-electric planes, said they have already made aviation “a big target. Is boat shaming next? I’m afraid so!”
He urged the boating sector not to chase Utopian solutions but make positive, step-by-step changes now. “If you can reduce overall fuel usage, many different fuels become much more viable. Efficiency and new fuels, be they electricity or biofuels, must go hand in hand. The only way to get there is to start with small hybrids. That is essentially the same path automobiles have been following.”
In a glittering award night under the stars at Amsterdam’s National Maritime Museum, John Lu, founder and CEO of Taiwanese motor yacht maker Horizon Yachts, received a Lifetime Achievement award. The joint Designer of the Year awards went to Tony Castro Yacht Design and Sea Ray’s first-ever female design team of Carrie Fodor and Kristin McGinnis.
And Britain’s Ocean Signal Ltd. Won the 2022 DAME Design Award 2022 for its RescueME PLB3 AIS Personal Locator Beacon, a combination of an AIS man-overboard device and GPS with a Cospas-Sarsat personal locator beacon, Galileo Return Link Service and even visible and infrared signal lights.
“In a rescue situation speed is always of the essence,” said the jury. “This unit provides the very best chance for survival through this combination of long- and short-range detection.”
Metstrade Director Niels Klarenbeek said after two COVID-marred years, the annual Amsterdam show is keen to resume “its critical role as the epicenter of the global marine leisure sector.”
Metstrade is the world’s largest trade exhibition of equipment, materials and systems for the international marine industry. It is organized by RAI Amsterdam and the London-based International Council of Marine Industry Associations.
