Innovation and insights from IBEX 2025
Boating Industry walked the 2025 IBEX show floor among many industry players while exhibitors showcased their latest products and shook hands with both current and potential partners.
The show kicked off with the Opening Day Industry Breakfast. The room, filled completely, heard from Frank Hugelmeyer, president of the NMMA, and Kevin O’Connor, Emmy-award-winning television host. O’Connor shared a keynote address highlighting the importance of mentorship and advocating for trade careers.
The 2025 Innovation Awards winners were also honored. “From the entire IBEX team, congratulations to all entrants of the 2025 Innovation Awards and a special thank you to our judges for their hard work in selecting this year’s winners,” said Mary Velline, show director of IBEX. “We had such an incredible array of new and innovative products this year, showcasing a bright future for our entire industry. And with such, our winners should be especially proud of their accomplishments. Thank you to everyone for participating in this year’s awards.”
Innovation and conversations on the show floor
After breakfast, we made our way through aisles filled with products of all kinds and caught up with Chris Ponnwitz, chief commercial officer of Mack Boring, the distributor for ePropulsion in North America.
Ponnwitz addressed the continued uncertainty around tariffs. “I think a challenge right now is not an equipment thing; it’s a reluctance to make decisions on tariffs,” Ponnwitz said. “The economic uncertainty and the overall consumer sentiment have been rough going through half of this year.
“[The] opportunity – I think it’s going to level out,” he continued. “I think 2026 is going to be good. On the electric market, we have so much innovation that when the consumer sentiment comes back, I think the market is going to take off quicker than it has in the past.”
He noted dinghy, tender and sailboat owners as the primary recreational consumers of electric power today. “Six horsepower and below is a really great fit, but there are also use cases for the higher output stuff; they’re just a little more limited,” he said, referring to larger battery sizes as a challenge today.
“If you look at the battery technology that we’ve seen over the last five or six years, if we continue to move that quickly, in ten years, the batteries are going to be more power dense, smaller, lighter, more durable,” he continued. “There are already new players out here who are making great batteries. I think the market and use cases are going to open up as the batteries get more power-dense.”
ePropulsion debuted its new Smart Control Joystick system, offering precision and 360-degree control across electric-powered vessels, from small jon boats to larger recreational vessels.
Later, media gathered around the Navico booth to learn about the new Simrad AutoCaptain Autonomous Boating System. Aine Denari, president of Navico Group and chief technology officer at Brunswick, said that consumers expect fully integrated solutions and want peace of mind on their boats.
“Many of them did not grow up boating as much as you in the audience did, so they really want safety and peace of mind to know that what the boat is going to do, it will do flawlessly and without too much effort from them,” she explained.
The autonomous system offers docking and undocking features, short-distance maneuvers and vessel stabilization. Over time, Simrad will leverage the same hardware to add features and functions.
Dometic, winner of the 2025 Mechanical Systems Innovation Award for its CSX Marine Cooling system, also hosted media within its booth to share some of its latest technologies. The company released a new sanitation system, DC power manager and 48V battery-powered HVAC system, among other innovations.
Suzuki wrapped up the day with its media address. Brandon Clerka, vice president of sales and marketing, announced Suzuki’s partnership with Vetus and the latest additions to its outboard models.
The collaboration with Vetus will ensure full compatibility between all Vetus Bow Pro thruster systems and Suzuki’s flagship V6 DF350AMD and DF300BMD outboard models.
“By integrating engines, steering, and bow-thruster controls through a single streamlined joystick interface, Suzuki and Vetus are making boating easier, especially in docking situations and other challenging close-quarter maneuvers,” Clerka said.
Education and more connections
On day two, Boating Industry welcomed attendees to the Education Hall for the Navigating the Marine Industry Panel. David Gee led a discussion featuring Roger Moore, president and chief revenue officer of Nautical Ventures Group, Keith Yunger, president of Sea Ray Boats, and Adam Quandt, former Boating Industry editor-in-chief.
The group shared networking tips and discussed the role of industry associations to help attendees chart their own course within the industry. The session was filled with insightful stories, practical advice and plenty of laughs.
Back on the show floor, Harman’s Kent Jopling was excited to share the latest from Harman and JBL. He emphasized the importance of designers and manufacturers seeing and engaging with products in person. “You either get the egg, which is an idea, or you have a chicken. So we made a chicken so you can see what we’re doing,” he said, addressing a JBL prototype at the show. “Without shows like this, new ideas aren’t spawned for a use case.”
“This being a B2B show, we have a lot of our direct OEM customers here because we do supply to a lot of boat builders directly,” said Ray Marine’s Jim Hands. “So a show like this is important because it enables us to get a full lineup of technology out. We can get it in front of a lot more people who work in those companies than we normally would during an on-site visit. We make a lot of fresh contacts on the show floor every IBEX.”
“The marine industry is quite naturally a social industry, and it’s all about connections,” echoed Propspeed’s Lina Leks. “It’s really important for us to be here and meet our partners and potential new customers and bring this relationship in person. Obviously, when new innovations are coming out, it’s a key show because the whole industry is here.”
Beyond new products, Freedom Boat Club also continues to play a role in attracting boaters. Cecil Cohn, president of the organization, shared that Discover Boating, NMMA and Freedom Boat Club have conducted studies to learn about boat club members. “Over 90% of the people joining Freedom or boat clubs in general have no intention of buying a boat when they join the club,” Cohn said. “So it’s truly additive to the industry.”
Freedom Boat Club has about 60,000 memberships, totaling roughly 100,000 people exposed to the recreational boating industry through the boat club. About one-third of Freedom Boat Club members are females, and Cohn said a significant number are in their 30s and 40s. “We’re also doing a really good job of retaining older, especially ex-boaters,” he added.
He noted that 10% of members leave the boat club every year on average. Between one in five and one in ten of these members, depending on the year, leave because they intend to buy their own boat.
IBEX 2025
From autonomous systems to sustainable designs and industry collaboration, IBEX 2025 showcased the innovation, energy and passion driving the marine industry forward.
During the Industry Breakfast, Steve Heese gave an acceptance speech following his recent induction into the NMMA Hall of Fame. He helped set the tone of the boat show with the inspiring words he shared with the industry:
“Ignore those who tell you to take calculated risks. It’s the magnitude of the risk that provides the potential for reward. You’ll make mistakes, you may even fail. So what. As long as your brain still functions, you can keep going until you find success. There are no rules. Do your thing. I also encourage you to get involved in our industry… join an ABYC committee, attend the American Boating Conference, and get involved with the MRAA.
“I’ll leave you with this quote,” he concluded. “One that’s gotten me through rough seas and rough waters alike. ‘A boat may be a hull on the water, but if you’re lucky, it also becomes the place where you find your purpose, your people and your peace.’”
