Officers elected for 2006 MATES Board of Directors
CHICAGO – The Marine Association for Technology Standards elected officers for the MATES Board of Directors on Wednesday, August 29, during its inaugural Board meeting in Chicago, it reported in a statement today.
George Rogic, senior e-business specialist for Volvo Penta of the Americas, was named MATES chairman, and Dan Schuette, Genmar Holdings’ vice president of information systems, was named vice chairman. Both Rogic and Schuette will hold their current Board positions for one year.
During the meeting, board members identified the next transaction types MATES plans to examine within the coming months. Association subcommittees are set to evaluate the processes and develop XML standards for locating dealers, performing warranty registration and submitting credit applications and/or obtaining credit decisions.
“I strongly encourage everyone in the marine industry to visit our website, firstmates.org, and participate in our monthly conference calls to experience and appreciate the depth of what MATES is working to accomplish,” said Rogic. “MATES isn’t just developing standards that will benefit one particular company; the standards are guidelines that every company – from large, international companies to one-man software developers – can use to improve efficiencies throughout the supply chain. MATES is a solution for our industry, and it’s critical that the industry helps support this initiative.”
Several MATES Board members will be on hand at the upcoming International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference (IBEX), taking place November 1-3 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. During IBEX, the group will host a MATES Open House, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, November 2. The event will give IBEX attendees an opportunity to learn more about the organization, network with current members and discuss the advantages membership in MATES can offer their respective businesses.
MATES is an affiliate of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). Originally founded by a small group of industry leaders, the idea behind MATES is to streamline efforts needed to conduct business between trading partners (internal customers) so that each partner can focus on the revenue-generating aspects of their business (external customers). The association’s goal is to develop a set of data communication exchange standards by which the marine industry at large can operate, effectively reducing IT burdens, eliminating system incompatibility and making it easier for companies to transact business with one another.
MATES founding and charter members include: boats.com; Brunswick Boat Group; Channel Blade Technologies; Dockmaster Software; MarineMax; NMMA; and Watch Captain.
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