The Awards

The seventh edition of the IBI METSTRADE Boat Builder Awards for Business Achievement, in association with Raymarine, highlights the critical influence of new boat and superyacht production across the whole industry.

A total of six categories will highlight personal achievement, environmental responsibility, collaborative working, innovation, design and marketing.

Headline Sponsor: Raymarine

Raymarine has been the headline sponsor of the Boat Builder Awards ever since the very first edition in 2015. Raymarine a world leader in marine electronics, develops and manufactures the most comprehensive range of electronic equipment for the recreational, boating and light commercial marine markets.

See all sponsors 

THE AWARDS

  • Boat Builder Award Category Sponsor - Ultraflex

    Collaborative Solution between Boat or Superyacht Builder and its Supply Chain Partner

    This award recognises boat and superyacht builders or refit yards and supply chain partners such as equipment manufacturers that have collaborated from a conceptual stage as if working in one team to develop a particular solution to a design challenge, innovation or efficiency improvement.

  • Innovative On-Board Design Solution

    For boat builder and shipyard companies or boat design companies nominating a specific yacht solution

    The Innovative On-Board Design Solution Award recognises boat and superyacht builders that have developed a specific design feature that transforms their end users' on-board experience.

  • Environmental Initiative

    For boat builder and shipyard companies

    Boat builders nominated for this award will highlight any change that targets sustainability. Examples include lifecycle awareness, reducing the operational impact of boats and yachts and improving production processes, as well as recycling initiatives and support of environmental improvement projects.

  • Retail Marketing Initiative

    For boat builder and shipyard companies

    This category recognises advances in retail marketing where the builder, working alone or with a dealer, has demonstrated real innovation in marketing to end users. Examples could include campaigns, boat show initiatives, successful partnerships, dealer promotions and responses to COVID-19 restrictions.

  • sleipner

    Lifetime Achievement Award

    For individuals working for a boat builder or shipyard

    We invite nominations to this special award for a person who has made a lifetime’s contribution as a boat builder. Nominees will have made a significant impact on the boat building businesses that they have been associated with in their careers.

  • Rising Star

    for individuals working for a boat builder or shipyard

    Individuals nominated in this category will be aged 35 or under, working for a boat builder and will have been making a growing impact on any aspect of their business, from design and production, to management, buying and any other boat building discipline. Nominees should be no older than age 35 on 16 November 2021.

Boat Builder Awards Drinks are sponsored by Propspeed

Boat Builder Award Category Sponsor - Propspeed

Judging Panel

All nomination entries are carefully evaluated by an international panel of seven judges, chaired by Ed Slack, Editor in Chief at IBI.

  • Ed Slack

    Editor of IBI Magazine, UK


    Having worked for a group of regional newspapers in the UK, Ed joined IBI in 1999, taking on the role of editor in 2005. Following an MBO in 2017 of the magazine and its affiliate websites, IBI-Plus and IBInews.com, he became Editorial Director of IBI’s parent company, Boating Communications.

  • Craig Ritchie

    North America Correspondent, IBI magazine, USA

     

    Craig Ritchie began writing about the leisure boating industry in the late 1980s. After three decades of magazine work, most recently as Director of Editorial at a major Canadian publishing firm, he took an early retirement package and established his own communications company. Craig joined IBI as its North America correspondent in 2012.

  • Davide Cipriani

    Boat and industrial designer, president of yacht design at Centrostiledesign, Italy

    Davide Cipriani, developed a love for boating in his childhood. He became passionate about the design world and soon began a career working in the 27-year-old family industrial design business focused on the marine industry, alongside his father, Tiziano. Davide now manages the company, taking care of its customers and its 40 employees.

  • Klaus Röder

    Yacht designer at Carpe Diem Yacht Design, Germany

    Klaus commenced his career as a boat builder craftsman in southern Germany, completing his education with a degree in yacht and pwercraft design at Southampton University in the UK. He is now actively both designing and surveying yachts. In his role as a consultant he serves the industry in the areas of standardisation, administration and compliance.

  • Hugo Andreae

    Editor Motor Boat and Yachting magazine, UK

    After 15 years as a motoring journalist working on Autocar and the Daily Express, he moved from land to sea to become editor of Motor Boats Monthly magazine in 2002. Two years later he took the helm of Motor Boat & Yachting, pushing it to new heights with the launch of the Motor Boat of the Year Awards in 2006 and SuperYacht World magazine in 2007. As well as an experienced marine journalist and magazine editor he remains a passionate motor boat owner and windsurfer.

  • Lars-Ake Redeen

    Chief Editor Batliv magazine, Sweden

    Lars-Åke Redéen is a Swedish boating journalist and editor-inchief of Batliv Magazine since 1990. He has been working as responsible editor for both the Swedish Boating Union (consumer magazine) and Sweboat (B2B) for many years and has contributed to the IBI News since mid 90s. Lars-Åke studied journalism at the University of Gothenburg before starting his career as a daily newspaper journalist, later a car magazine editor and then he moved to the marine industry. For several years he was chairman for the jury at the former Scandinavian Boat Show in Stockholm.

  • Michel Luizet

    Editor Neptune magazine, France



    Sailing has been Michel’s passion since he was a teenager. He graduated in History at La Sorbonne in Paris, although he was more often found on the Channel between Saint-Malo and Cowes, competing in all events like the Fasnet race. After university, Michel worked as an assistant for a member of the French parliament for four years. He started his journalism career in 1997. For the duration of one year, he worked as a freelance journalist for Voile Magazine. He then joined Moteur Boat as an editor in 1998 before becoming deputy editor in chief two years later. Since 2003 he is the editor in chief of Neptune Yachting Magazine, a leading French high end boating magazine.