MarineBusinessWorld.com Newsletter: The marine industry is truly global
by Peter Rendle 20 Jun 2019 08:00 PDT
Marine Recruitment Services © Marine Resources
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The marine industry is truly global, and our first item is news from France about a new appointment from an international boat builder. The Board of Directors of Beneteau S.A. has announced that Mr Hervé Gastinel's duties as Chief Executive Officer and his other positions within Groupe Beneteau ended on June 15 and 16, 2019. The Board of Directors has appointed its Chairman, Mr Jérôme de Metz, as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Mr Gastinel. Alongside this appointment, the Boat Division's Management Board is also evolving to unite the Group's teams, brands, design units and plants around a stronger shared project.
Closer to home, Twin Disc, Inc. a global leader in power transmission technology for marine and land-based applications, has appointed James E. Feiertag as president and COO, effective May 1, 2019. Feiertag assumes the role of president, previously held by CEO John H. Batten, and replaces COO Mac Moore, who will retire May 31, 2019. In this role, Feiertag will be responsible for overseeing the functions of operations, sales, marketing, distribution and engineering.
For companies that exhibit at boat shows, Jennifer Thompson, Senior Vice President of NMMA Shows was named the first female president of the International Federation of Boat Show Organizers (IFBSO) on Friday, June 7 in Split, Croatia at their annual conference. Thompson replaces Goetz-Ulf Jungmichael following his third two-year tenure.
Staying with the international theme, news of a takeover by a US company of a British marine icon: LCI Industries today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Lippert Components, Inc. a supplier of a broad array of highly engineered components for the leading OEM of leisure vehicles and mobile transportation, and the related aftermarkets of those industries, has reached an agreement with the board of directors of Lewmar Marine Limited a supplier of leisure marine equipment, headquartered in Havant, United Kingdom, on the terms of a recommended cash offer for Lewmar by LCI, pursuant to which LCI would acquire the entire share capital of Lewmar.
New product developments include Evinrude's announcement of the expansion of the revolutionary Evinrude E-TEC G2 product line to include 115 H.O., 140HP and 150HP models. Evinrude's extended line-up is designed to give more boaters confidence on the water - in any situation.
And a warning to boaters about E15 fuel. After the objections of a wide coalition of American citizens and environmental, conservation, food producer, fuel retailer, taxpayer advocate, and outdoor recreation industry groups, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently waived Clean Air Act provisions and eliminated the three-and-a-half-month blackout period on the sale of E15 (15% ethanol) fuel during the summer months, permitting the fuel to be sold year-round.
The fuel had been banned at the pumps from June 1 to September 15 over concerns that it contributed to smog on hot days. As a result of EPA's action, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is advising boaters that they will need to be very cautious at the gas station to ensure they aren't filling their boats with fuel that's bad (and illegal) for boat engines.
More news follows below. Please forward your press releases to peter.rendle@marinebusinessworld.com
Peter Rendle
MarineBusinessWorld.com