The Australian Superyacht, Marine Export and Commercial Marine Industry Conference (ASMEX) is over, leaving the Australian marine industry with a renewed energy and focus for growing this industry to its full potential.
The Australian Marine Industry has extraordinary potential – it just needs to be unlocked with the right government policy conditions. This was the consensus of the 260-strong group of international and local industry professionals gathered throughout the conference and awards dinner. Feedback received to date has been amazing and it appears a lot of relationships were made and renewed. It was the largest conference to date with a significant number of business leaders from around the world attending and speaking.
Conference Highlights
South Pacific Resolution
Key players from the South Pacific Superyacht Industry formed a panel on stage to drive discussion on how the region can collaborate to grow the South Pacific as the number one cruising ground for the global Superyacht fleet. The room voted to form a group of industry representatives from Fiji, Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia to devise a 5 year strategic plan for collaborative marketing of the region, working with partners to increase the traffic to all destinations in the South Pacific.
M. Edwards CEO Superyacht Australia, Peter Busfield CEO Marine NZ and Manoa Ray from Tahiti Tourism wholeheartedly supported this direction and will work together to establish the representative group and first meeting.
GLAZE
The winners of the 2017 World Superyacht Awards Voyage of the Year Award, Captain Carl Brandes and Melanie Brandes of GLAZE, attended ASMEX and impressed everyone in the room with their candid interview relaying their cruising experience in the stunning Kimberley region.
The Voyager of the Year Award honours the most daring and inspiring expeditions by a Superyacht. The journey took the GLAZE crew deep into North West Australia to the Kimberley region. With so much beauty, history and natural phenomena within its waters, Captain Carl and his Crew believe this region should be a must see for all Superyachts, and made this clear to
everyone in the room at ASMEX, reinforcing Australia’s cruising grounds as
dfdfbeing second to none.
This international award is the first of its kind to be awarded to a voyage undertaken within Australia and is just what the industry needs to profile the unique, secluded, safe cruising grounds you can expect to find in Australia.
Captain Carl Brandes advised he wished to sponsor a similar award in the 2018 Australian Superyacht awards for the best voyage in Australia by a visiting or domestic superyacht. The criteria is being established and will be published shortly.
Sponsors
Success of the ASMEX Conference would not be possible without the generous contributions from our sponsors. This support ensures ASMEX can continue to be the leading conference for the Australian marine industry and provide delegates with valuable insights, the high calibre of speakers and the facilitation of networking events the industry has grown to expect. The AIMEX team have had an overwhelmingly positive response from companies who sponsored this year’s conference and surrounding events and are already preparing for ASMEX 2018. If you are interested in supporting next year, contact the team at AIMEX to arrange a tailored package best suited to your needs. There are a number of opportunities which will enhance your companies profile and exposure with your target market. It is exciting that Pantaenius have already committed to this event for 2018.
A big thank you to the following companies who supported ASMEX by providing prizes for the early bird draw: The Superyacht Group, Southport Yacht Club, Barz Optics, Micro Scooters, GCD Exhibitions and the Intercontinental Sanctuary Cove Resort.
General Feedback
If you attended ASMEX and have not yet provided us your comments, we would appreciate any feedback you have to improve next year’s event.
Welcome function
Over 120 delegates from the marine industry attended the Maxwell Marine Welcome Function the first event of the week to start off the 2017 ASMEX Conference. It was the first opportunity within the conference program for delegates to meet key international and Australian Industry players.
Thank you must go to Maxwell Marine who sponsored this event held at the Black Angus Bar and Grill on the marina in the Sanctuary Cove Village and have already committed to 2018.
Awards Gala Dinner Presentation:
This year’s awards gala dinner was a sell out with more than 260 guests in attendance to celebrate the achievements of their industry peers. Sevenstar Yacht Transport shared their hospitality with industry by sponsoring the pre-dinner drinks. This was appreciated by all and was an excellent opportunity for making new connections and building on existing ones.
Aqualuma LED Lighting sponsored the entertainment which many agreed that the entertainer’s ability to remember everyone in the room was a spectacular display and his many tricks etc had everyone laughing and enjoying this interlude!
Thanks, must go to Carl and Grant Amor for entertaining us in true Amor style!
Thanks must also go to Boat Style who supplied the distinctive and stylish centre pieces, Rivergate Marina & Shipyard, Textron Aviation and Benjamin & Benjamin Insurance Group who all sponsored and presented awards.
Thanks must go to David Hogan from Bacardi who donated a bottle of high calibre spirits for each table. Grey Goose Vodka, Blue Sapphire Gin and Dewars Whiskey which needless to say excited everyone.
Early in the evening the MC called on each table to select the best looking person at their table. At the time no one understood what this was for and believed they were selecting a table leader for a quiz or something later in the night. The fact was the selected good looker was the lucky recipient of the bottles supplied by Bacardi. Unfortunate for several heads the next day, as many recipients chose to drink their prize there and then!
Again thanks to David Hogan whose parents were in attendance – Jackie and John Hogan from Superior Jetties.
Australian Marine Industry Awards:
Thank you to all who submitted entries to the Australian Marine Industry Awards.
Winners for 2017 are:
Export:
Down Under Rally – Most Innovative Marine Industry Exported Product of Service
Trenton Gay – Export Industry Champion
Life Cell Marine Safety – Best Marine Industry Export Performance – Small Exporter
Rainman Desalination – Best Marine Industry Export Performance – Medium Exporter
Marine Engineering Consultants – Best Marine Industry Export Performance – Large Exporter
Rainman Desalination – Best Marine Industry Export Marketing Strategy
Superyacht:
Abell Point Marina – Superyacht Business of the Year – Service Provider
Echo Yachts – Superyacht Business of the Year – Manufacturer
Paul Darrouzet – Superyacht Industry Champion
Commercial:
Steber International – Commercial Marine Manufacturer of the Year
Sydney City Marine – Commercial Marine Service Provider of the Year
Britton Maritime Systems – Most Innovative Commercial Marine Industry Product or Service
SOS Marine – Highly Commended Most Innovative Marine Industry Product or Service
Justin Parer – Commercial Marine Industry Champion
AIMEX Board Recognition Award:
Superyacht Australia Charter Working Group for their efforts in driving this issue with government. Progress is being made thanks to the time, effort and commitment to Superyacht Australia and this team.
Kane Bygrave – Aurora Logistics
David Good – Ports North
Cameron Bray – Northrop & Johnson
Jo Howard – Ocean Alliance
Luke McCaul – Abell Point Marina
Exporter of the Year – Rainman Desalination
Cambridge Global Payments
It was great to meet many of you during the boat show in in Sanctuary Cove. While it was the first time presenting to the AIMEX audience, we received an overwhelming response after the presentation with a number of problems that current members have, but for the most part the questions were aligned with the following points:
- How do we simplify their FX setup when utilising overseas accounts?
- What are the alternate ways to manage their exposure for upcoming invoices through forward contracts that allow upside participation?
- How to absorb intermediary bank fees?
In answering the above points we were able to provide solutions to overcome a number of problems for businesses either looking to establish themselves in new markets overseas and those well versed with experience in fX and demonstrate a tangible difference to what they are doing with their incumbent providers.
If you have any questions as to how to improve what you are currently doing or if any of the above questions apply to you, simply contact Joshua Vakapuna on 03 8687 4801 orjvakapuna@cambridgefx.com.au to see if we can help.
Sanctuary Cove Boat Show
Superyacht Australia & AIMEX purchased a total of 189 square meters of space in the Pantaenius Superyacht and Marine Pavilion at SCIBS this year. A variety of companies exhibited including Pantaenius Yacht Insurance, Austral Propellers, Mega Pulse Green Energy, MEC Yachts, MedAire, Crew Pacific, Steber International, Etiquette Marine, CE&A Co, Superior Group, Textron Aviation, Aqualuma LED Lighting, Hella Marine, Gold Coast City Marina and Shipyard and Dixon Asia Pacific.
Alley Party
The Alley Party hosted by Aurora Global Logistics & Gold Coast City Marina together with AIMEX & Superyacht Australia once again surpassed expectations and was deemed an enjoyable and valuable networking event by all who attended. The invite only event brought VIPs from the Australian marine industry and international players together to enjoy an evening of Australian styled food and beverages with a live performer; Elly Hart. On the first night of the Sanctuary Cove International Boat show, the event provided a great opportunity to network and build relationships with like-minded industry colleagues. Thanks must go to Aurora Global Logistics & Gold Coast City Marina who sponsored the event and made it the success it was. Many said it is the “party to go to” and as always was oversubscribed.
Industry Support Poppy Moore on her voyage to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s
Poppy Moore spoke at ASMEX about her voyage sailing around Australia to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s, because her father’s got Parkinson’s and his older brother died of Parkinson’s related illnesses.
“What I’m trying to do is meet people along the way who would like to help fundraise with me, and possibly come on for a leg of the journey.” Poppy said.
Poppy is only six weeks into her circumnavigation of our island, and you can be part of it.
IBL
AIMEX, Superyacht Australia and ACMG members were fortunate to have access to the International Business Lounge throughout the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in the days following the ASMEX conference. This exclusive venue offered the opportunity for members to host meetings, relax and unwind whilst enjoying refreshments provided. “It was great to see the number of businesses utilizing this resource and benefiting from this business platform provided within the show”, ASMEX Conference Coordinator Emily Simpson said. AIMEX, Superyacht Australia and ACMG would like to thank the Queensland Government and the Gold Coast City Council for supporting this initiative with AIMEX to provide a business centre for International visitors.
ICOMIA congress
AIMEX CEO M Edwards attended the ICOMIA Congress which was being held at the Sheraton Mirage on the Gold Coast at the same time as the SCIBS. This congress hosted by the Australian marine industry BIA, MIA, AIMEX and organised by the BIA was deemed a great success also with key international marine organisations sending their key representatives. Simon Cook Vice President of ICOMIA did a great job ensuring a warm welcome to everyone and Andrew Chapman, M. Edwards, Domenic Genoa, Riviera and Quintrex also gave presentations at a lunch designed to showcase Australian capability.
The event discussed issues of relevance to marine industry organisations, subjects discussed were how to grow boating participation, technical issues in relation to the recreational and superyacht sectors, statistics and what the industry needs to make decisions, boat shows, international market opportunities and what various global MIA’s are doing to provide benefits to their members.
The event ended with a Gala dinner on the Saturday night attended by MaryAnne Edwards, AIMEX President Richard Chapman, Treasurer Steve Vincent and Superyacht Australia Chairman Barry Jenkins. This was a great opportunity to network within the industry.
Networking with our New Zealand Counterparts at the ICOMIA congress.