News

WEST FRANKFORT, Ill. – Crownline Boats notified 120 employees at its Southern Illinois facility that they would be laid off on Monday, according to a Thursday report from The Southern Illinoisan. Crownline President Tim Claxton told the newspaper the layoffs were a result of seasonal declines. “The best answer I can give for the layoffs is that it’s November in ...

CHICAGO, Ill. – After a record-breaking Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) President Thom Dammrich told Boating Industry that he anticipates continued success for the boat show season. Predictions that this year’s Fort Lauderdale show would break records in attendance, sales and economic impact came true for show producers, as Kay Pearson reported earlier this week ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Polaris Industries will build a new 100,000 square-foot product development facility in Wyoming, Minn., a home for engineering, design and development personnel for the company’s line of all-terrain vehicles, personal watercraft, and Victory Motorcycles, the company reported in a statement yesterday. The 600-acre Wyoming site will allow for on-site field-testing, and will provide ample room for ...

TALLAHASEE, Fla. – If all goes according to plan, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee will vote on November 19 over whether to downlist manatees from their current endangered status to threatened. If manatees are reclassified in Florida, the mammals will remain protected as endangered under the federal government; however, some feel it would give the boating industry “a ...

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — ShoreMaster, Inc., a waterfront equipment manufacturer, broke ground October 31 for a new manufacturing plant and office complex in the Fergus Falls Industrial Park, the company reported yesterday. ShoreMaster employees gathered with city and state officials, Otter Tail Corp. executives and community members to commemorate the event. Fergus Falls Mayor Russell Anderson called the groundbreaking a ...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Cruising World and Sailing World 2004 Boat of the Year Awards were handed out yesterday, with honors for best overall vessel going to Hallberg-Rassy 40 and the J/133, at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, World Publications reported in a statement yesterday. The Hallberg-Rassy 40, which took home top honors, was designed by Germán Frers and ...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Regal Marine Industries, Inc. has achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the company reported in a statement today. ISO provides a globally accepted model for a quality assurance in production, installation and servicing. Its certification creates a documentation system for evaluation and verification for all quality procedures and materials throughout a company, ...

TULSA, Okla. – The Marine Retailers Association of America (MRAA) is “solidly behind” Genmar Corp. Chairman Irwin Jacobs’ initiative to delay shipments of model year 2005 units until next August 1 and to schedule the company’s national dealer meeting in September, instead of during the busy summer months, according to MRAA President Phil Keeter. “It’s a page right out of ...

WASHINGTON D.C. — Congressman Scott McInnis of Colorado added an amendment to the U.S. Coast Guard Authorization Bill that formally recognizes the collaborative efforts of marine manufacturers, the Coast Guard, and the American Boat & Yacht Council to address health risks associated with carbon monoxide on and around boats, the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) reported in an article yesterday. ...

NORFOLK, Va. – Following two successful boating satellite television tours this year, Rhodes Communications has plans to produce two more of the national TV news telecasts in 2004, the company reported in a statement yesterday. The first telecast will originate from the Miami International Boat Show in February, and the second has been scheduled for May, just prior to the ...