ABYC expands internationally
EDGEWATER, Md. – The American Boat & Yacht Council has added four new members from the People’s Republic of China following the Shanghai International Boat Show and Forum in April 2005, according to a press release from ABYC yesterday.
Skip Burdon, ABYC’s president, was invited to attend the Shanghai International Boat Show and Forum to participate in a general session regarding marine standards development and use.
“As U.S. boat, marine accessory and sub-component manufacturers use product produced throughout Asia, their Asian partners need to understand, comply with and build to industry standards,” Burdon said.
Over one hundred attendees were introduced to the ABYC mission and its standards during the session and as a result, Chinese members have joined ABYC in May and June, signaling an increased interest in complying with consensus-based marine standards. The four new members include Silver Marine International, Shanghai Mercury Consulting, Sunbird Yachts/Padden Creek Marine and Genuine Marine. Ltd.
“Cooperation and compliance to internationally recognized standards between all ABYC members, both domestic and foreign, will help improve marine safety through compliance to standards and minimization of unauthorized replication of industry recognized branded product,” Burdon said. “Open dialog between all ABYC members, both foreign and domestic, will also improve and level the competitive playing field.
“Asia’s recent economic boom and its emerging affluent consumer society are now contributing to a marked interest in recreational products; to include boats, yachts and marine related goods and services,” Burdon continued. “These new consumers are hungry for American and European branded marine products because of their quality and reliability. ABYC membership for foreign manufacturers will ultimately result in increased safety for boaters in the United States and around the world because product will be produced using an industry accepted, consensus based, standards development process that has stood the test of time for over 50 years.”
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