Garmin named Manufacturer of the Year by NMEA

Garmin International Inc. announced that it was named Manufacturer of the Year for the sixth consecutive year by members of the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) at its annual business meeting and awards presentation held virtually on Sept. 26. The coveted Manufacturer of the Year honor is given to the most recognized company in the marine electronics industry for excellence in product service and support in the field.

Garmin was also awarded four NMEA Product of Excellence awards in the multi-function display (MFD), autopilot, multi-media entertainment and mobile application—utility categories. These awards are voted on by professional NMEA dealers who specialize in installing marine electronics, qualified NMEA technicians and fellow marine electronics manufacturers.

“It’s a true honor to be the NMEA Manufacturer of the Year for six years running,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales. “Working closely with our dealers, distributors, industry experts and NMEA technicians every step of the way, we’ve created a portfolio of some of the most innovative technology on the water, all backed by our first-class service and support. These awards are a true testament to Garmin’s commitment to excellence and reliability among our industry colleagues and customers, and validate the hard work and dedication of our entire team.”

Garmin won the Product of Excellence award in the MFD category for the sixth consecutive year for its GPSMAP^® 8616xsv, a 16-inch chartplotter with a full HD in-plane switching (IPS) display with multi-touch control.

For eight years running, Garmin took the top spot in the autopilot category for its Reactor^™ 40 Hydraulic Autopilot with SmartPump v2. The Reactor was Garmin’s first recreational autopilot system to utilize AHRS technology and boasts usability, installation flexibility, and many other features that prove to be valuable for any vessel.

Fusion Entertainment, a Garmin brand, also received consecutive honors with a win in the multimedia entertainment category for the fifth year in a row for the Apollo RA770 marine entertainment system, the world’s first touchscreen marine stereo with Apple AirPlay, built-in Wi-Fi and network audio sharing capabilities.

Finally, ActiveCaptain was honored in the mobile application—utility category, extending Garmin’s winning streak in this category to six years. ActiveCaptain is a free all-in-one mobile app for mariners that delivers a seamless content management system with access to cartography, automatic delivery of the latest software available, off-vessel planning capabilities, connected services and so much more.