Awesome Gathering Of Boats

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday November 5, 1994

BOB WONDERS

IMAGINE, if you will, a single boat show combining all that the exhibitions of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth had to offer.

You would probably think, "wow", that would be some show.

Sure, it would be a boat show of some magnitude, but in size it would not even come close to that which I witnessed in Chicago, Illinois, last month, the 36th annual staging of IMTEC.

For the uninitiated, IMTEC stand for International Marine Trades Exhibit and Convention, acknowledged as the world's largest exhibition of its type.

Despite the fact that I visit Australia's major boat shows annually, make regular visits to the Miami International Boat Show and have attended boat shows in Spain, France, Italy and Singapore, I found IMTEC awesome in its size and scope.

By my reckoning, that mythical combined capital city boat show I mentioned would attract about 800 exhibitors.

Subtract the duplications that would exist and there would probably be 550 exhibitors left.

IMTEC, in Chicago's sprawling McCormick Centre, housed nearly 1,300 individual exhibitors. Organised by the National Marine Manufacturers'Association (NMMA), the US counterpart to the Boating Industry Association of Australia, it is claimed to attract more than 44,000 hard-core marine industry buyers.

I met industry representatives from England, the Netherlands, France, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, Canada, Sweden and from several South American nations.

There was no shortage of Australians, I might add. Peter Hunt (Hunts Marine, Blakehurst), Steve Parker (Lewis Ski Boats, Auburn), Russell Dunbier(Dunbier Trailers, Melbourne), David Hazlett and Greg Wright (Berowra Waters Marina), Chris Iacono (Solo Marine, Sydney), David Mason (Riviera Marine, Labrador), Bob and Scott Littler (Bob Littler Agencies, Brisbane), Steve Solomon (0MC, Sydney) and Peter Buckingham (Golden Seal Outboards, Melbourne)were among the thousands who flocked to the show.

The overall organisation of the exhibition was a credit to the NMMA's livewire president, Jeff Napier, the show manager Mike McCool and the organisation's 100-strong staff.

Although essentially a trade show, the NMMA organised a number of events that proved interesting and, in many cases, of prime importance to industry visitors.

There was a clever display, "The Store of the Future", a teaching/demonstration environment where marine dealers were shown the latest methods in merchandise display and up-to-the-minute technology aimed at increasing profitability.

Seminars, too, were a feature of IMTEC, with high-profile speakers talking on marine management and marine technology.

Speaking of technology, how about this - on each of the four days of the show, organisers produced a 22-page, tabloid newspaper, distributed free to the thousands of visitors and exhibitors.

It contained better than 50 per cent full colour, had its own editor and staff of reporters, and carried late-breaking news on new products, interviews with VIP visitors and coverage of some of the many organised new product launches.

IMTEC highlights were probably too numerous to list in detail, however there were some noticeable displays.

Honda Marine chose IMTEC to launch its 90hp four-stroke outboard, the first four-stroker to offer more than 50hp.

Industry giants Outboard Marine Corporation and Mercury Marine hosted enormous displays, each featuring their own four-stroke outboard range along with the latest developments in jet units and stern drives.

Yamaha and Suzuki were also prominent, in outboard engines and personal water craft, which continue to attract soaring sales in the US.

IMTEC was an experience. As is, I might add, the Miami International Boat Show.

For next year's Miami extravaganza, scheduled for February 16-22, the Boating Industry Association is putting together a tour for interested Aussies.

You don't have to be an association member to take advantage, but it would help if you have a strong interest in all things boating.

Sanford Travel, of Double Bay, is arranging the tour and I'd recommend it heartily to boaters who want to see how the Yanks do things.

Contact the association on (02) 438-2077 or Sanford Travel on (02)327-5884.