Nov 20, 2018

A record total of 15 winning companies and individuals, plus 12 Honourable Mentions, were announced last night in Amsterdam at the 2018 Boat Builder Awards for Business Achievement, held in association with Raymarine. More than 330 guests sitting under the spectacularly lit courtyard dome of the National Maritime Museum witnessed an evening celebrating the industry’s many successes, crowned by the popular award of a Lifetime Achievement Award to Groupe Beneteau’s Annette Roux.

The final act of the evening was to honour five decades of standout leadership and service to Groupe Beneteau and to the wider marine industry by Annette Roux. She commenced her career enthralled by the scent of fresh wood and hemp in a traditional boatyard and today is still actively involved in what she has grown into a hugely successful multi-national group of boat builders. Her Lifetime Achievement award was presented by IBI’s Publishing Director, Nick Hopkinson and category sponsor, Ronny Skauen of Side-Power.

IBI Editor and chair of the Boat Builder Awards judges, Ed Slack, commented: “The Boat Builder Awards provides the perfect opportunity to celebrate the successes and achievements of this critical part of the marine industry and its supply chain. The judging process this year was particularly challenging due to the number of impressive initiatives that we were asked to assess, many of them demonstrating that there are positive changes happening now to address the changing nature of tomorrow’s market. If what we have seen this year is indicative, then the industry has good reason to feel positive about its ability to innovate and grow in new and exciting ways, even as the world changes around us.”

The final list of all winners, honourable mentions and shortlisted companies is as follows:

Retail Marketing Initiative
sponsored by RAI Amsterdam
Princess Yachts – Winner
Brunswick Marine EMEA – Honourable Mention
Groupe Beneteau – Honourable Mention

International Distributor or Dealer Development
sponsored by Wells Fargo
Brig – Winner
Sea Ray – Honourable Mention

Collaborative Solution between a production boat builder and its supply chain partner
sponsored by Ultraflex
Hanse Group, working with Lewmar – Joint Winner
Prestige Yachts, working with Lewmar – Joint Winner
Sunseeker International, working with Lewmar – Joint Winner
Axopar Boats, working with Brabus – Honourable Mention
Solaris Yachts, working with Sailectron – Honourable Mention

Collaborative Solution between a superyacht builder and its supply chain partner
sponsored by Lumishore
Ferretti, working with Francesco Paszkowski Design Studio and Mecaer Aviation Group – Winner
Benetti, working with Naiad Dynamics – Honourable Mention

Innovative Onboard Design Solution
sponsored by Fusion
Galeon – Winner
Mastercraft Boat Co – Honourable Mention

Innovation in a Production Process
sponsored by Dometic
Absolute Yachts – Winner

Environmental Initiative
sponsored by UCINA
Amer Yachts – Winner
Discovery Yachts – Honourable Mention

Best Apprenticeship or Training Scheme
sponsored by Marine Resources
NZ Marine and Composites Industry Training Organisation – Winner
Princess Yachts – Honourable Mention

Rising Star
sponsored by Gurit
Dan Bloice-Smith, Williams Jet Tenders

Lifetime Achievement
sponsored by Side-Power
Annette Roux – Groupe Beneteau