AMSTERDAM – Organizers of the 2021 Metstrade prepare for a hybrid event, from Nov. 16 to 18, at the RAI events center here. It will be a traditional-format show with exhibitors as well as a virtual one, courtesy of a special app and three days of live broadcasting by the all-new Metstrade TV.
Metstrade – the annual gathering of the global leisure marine industry – is inviting nominations for Boat Builder Awards for those who excel in boat building and its supply chains. The nominations deadline is Oct. 6.
The 2020 Metstrade was held online. This year, it will be held in person on Wednesday, Nov. 17, in accordance with the stringent COVID-19 protocol of the RAI complex.
Metstrade is the world’s leading platform for professionals in the leisure marine equipment industry and the largest trade show of equipment, materials, and systems for the global leisure marine sector. It will take place Nov. 16-18 at Amsterdam’s RAI complex. Metstrade TV will have a live show floor studio to connect with marine professionals unable to be in Amsterdam.
The 2021 Boat Builder Awards are spread across six categories: design, innovation, collaborative working, environmental responsibility, marketing and personal achievement.
The Boat Builder Awards for Business Achievement, jointly run by London-based International Boat Industry and Metstrade, hails the contributions of boating sector individuals, teams and supply chain partners globally.
Jury chairman and IBI Editor Ed Slack: “Following the highly successful, fully locked-down running of the Boat Builder Awards last December, we have worked in close partnership with our colleagues at Metstrade to create a transitional format for 2021. It will meet our desire to celebrate achievement across a number of key areas while matching the mood and requirements for the whole marine industry as it gradually emerges from the pandemic.”
Metstrade Director Niels Klarenbeek sees an “enormous appetite among exhibitors and visitors” to meet up again in Amsterdam” in 2021. “Last year’s positive reaction to the online Boat Builder Awards, in association with Raymarine … was a reminder of why it is so important to highlight the critical role of the boat building sector for the whole marine industry.”
Award Categories:
- Collaborative Solution between boat or superyacht builder and its supply chain Partner. (Award recognizes boat and superyacht builders or refit yards and supply chain partners such as equipment makers that have collaborated from a conceptual stage, as if working in one team, to develop a particular solution to a design challenge, innovation or efficiency improvement.
- Innovative on-board design solution. (Award recognizes boat and superyacht builders that have developed a specific design feature that transforms their end users’ onboard experience.)
- Environmental Initiative for boat builders and shipyard companies. (Award will highlight any change that targets sustainability. Examples: lifecycle awareness, reducing the operational impact of boats and yachts and improving production processes, as well as recycling initiatives and support of environmental improvement projects.)
- Retail Marketing Initiative for boat builders and shipyard companies. (Award recognizes advances in retail marketing where the builder, working alone or with a dealer, has demonstrated real innovation in marketing to end-users. Examples could include campaigns, boat show initiatives, successful partnerships, dealer promotions and responses to COVID-19 restrictions.)
- Rising Star Award for individuals working for a boat builder or shipyard. (Nominees will be no older than 35 on Nov. 16, 2021, and work for a boat builder. They will have had a growing impact on any aspect of their business, from design and production to management, buying and any other boat building discipline.)
- Lifetime Achievement Award for individuals working for a boat builder or shipyard. (Nominees must have made a lifetime’s contribution as a boat builder and have made a significant impact on the boat building businesses they have been associated with in their careers.)
