Over 30 companies shared a strong presence at METS this year providing a showcase of what Australia offers and opening the door to expanding business in Europe.
Notorious for its representation of high quality and innovative Australian products, the Australian and Superyacht Pavilion at METS once again housed Australia’s leading brands. Of those leading brands was Veem Propellers & Gyro Stabilisers, who produce one of the most advanced and powerful gyro stabilisers. Veem were nominated and shortlisted for the 2018 Dame awards for their impressive gyro stabiliser.
Located in Western Australia VEEM Gyro stabilisers are powerful roll stabilisers that bolt into the vessel and control rolling motion. Based on gyro dynamic principals, these units control rolling motion when the vessel is underway and when drifting, at anchor or at very low speeds.
Richard Chapman, Chairman of AIMEX said “It’s great to see Australian product being recognised on the global stage, it is a massive achievement and I congratulate them on being shortlisted”.
On the second day of the show the much-anticipated Australian Outback Party held in high regard by those in the marine industry, provided an outstanding networking opportunity for connecting the Australian Marine Export Industry to international stakeholders. The Australian Outback Party, an exclusive invitation only event, held each year in the Outback Café has become one of the main events during the busy 3 days of the show and provides a fantastic platform to network with all facets of the industry.
The Gold Coast City Council returned this year with a strong contingent of Gold Coast companies. The Gold Coast Marine industry has more than 600 actively trading businesses, supports over 2500 fulltime equivalent jobs and generated an estimated $545 million in expenditure for the Gold Coast economy in 2016. The Coomera-based Gold Coast Marine Precinct holds the heaviest concentration of boat builders and marine based industries in Australia, about 80 per cent of all boats built in the country (Marine Gold Coast 2017). Gold Coast Companies who attended the show were – Aqualuma LED Lighting, Aquamare, Barz Optics, Diecon Marine, Marine Tuft, Pacific Blue Cruisecat, Sanctuary Cove Marina and Ultimate Docking Systems.
The full scope of the expertise of the Australian marine industry was available to any visitors to the national pavilion at METS through the Australian Marine Export Magazine. This gives a comprehensive guide to all the innovations, products and services currently available from Australian businesses. “Having the Australian Marine Export Magazine at METS was brilliant and well received by those at the show, this will help Europe understand what is available in Australia,” AIMEX CEO David Good said.
Olga Batzakidis, Operation Manager from Universal Free Fall Winches commented: “This was my first time at METS and I was blown away. What an exceptional show and important for anyone to attend wanting to export marine products. What made the difference is that it was a B2B trade show, so all quality contacts. We met everyone from retailers from around the world, as well as distributors, agents and boat builders – all relevant to growing our business.”
Second time attendee Brad Marsden, Director from Marine Airflow said, “Australia has a strong presence at METS, with a real impact being ‘unified’ under one banner. I am still blown away by the size of METS and the volume of people, truly an incredible show and I am glad we invested in a bigger space this year.”
METS attendee Sean Griffin, of the specialist marine consumer equipment company GME, said: “This was my 20th METS. “I am convinced,” he continued, “that the visitors to the Australian pavilion regard our capabilities very highly. Within the Pavilion there is a broad cross section of exhibits that emphasise the innovation and quality of Australian product.”
Australian businesses who had a presence in the Australian Pavilions at METS 2018 were: AMI Marine, Analu, Australian International Marine Export Group, Aqualuma LED Lighting, Aquamare, Barz Optics, Bellingham Marine, CE&A Engineering, Coursemaster Autopilots, GME, Gold Coast City Council, Greencorp Marine, Diecon Marine, HyDrive Engineering, Marine Airflow, Marine Tuft, Muir Engineering, Pacific Blue Cruisecat, Palm Products, Polyflex Group, Rainman Desalination, Rivergate Marina and Shipyard, Ronstan International, Sanctuary Cove Marina, Superior Jetties, TMQ International, Ultimate Docking Systems, Veem Propellers & Gyro Stabilisers, and Universal Free Fall Winches.
