July 31, 2018

The S.T.E.P. Purchasing Conference, put on by the National Marine Distributors Association, provides a centralized location for manufacturers to introduce new products and programs into the distributor marketplace. Both NMDA and non-NMDA members may attend S.T.E.P., held annually, this year from July 23 – 27, 2018.

S.T.E.P. Training is NOT a purchasing event. S.T.E.P Training offers a unique event to learn about the features/benefits of specific products and the best ways to sell them–directly from the manufacturers. S.T.E.P. Training is held every other year.

Suppliers of the Year – 2017:

Sea-Dog Line and Bennett Marine are the winners of the 2017 Supplier of the Year Awards. Sea-Dog Line, Everett, Washington, won in the Platinum Category. Sea-Dog Line is a leading supplier of over 5,500 marine dock, deck and rigging hardware items, 12-volt electrical/lighting and ventilation accessories. Runners-Up in this category were Uflex USA (1st) and Star brite (2nd). Bennett Marine, Deerfield Beach, Florida, won in the Gold Category. Bennett Marine is the largest manufacturer of durable hydraulic and electric trim tab systems for a variety of boat styles and sizes. Bennett Trim Tabs can be found on boats all over the world. Runners-Up in this category were Polyform (1st) and Bel-Ray (2nd).

NMDA also handed out three Special Focus Awards in the Platinum category and three in the Gold category. For the Platinum category, Sea-Dog Line received the awards for Best All Around Packaging, Marketing Philosophy, and Supply Chain Standards Efficiency. For the Gold category, Meguiar’s won the award for Best All Around Packaging, and Polyform won the awards for Marketing Philosophy and Supply Chain Standards Efficiency.

We thank our distributor members for voting for these important awards.

For more information please visit here.