The METSTRADE Exhibition Committee has two new permanent members: Tom Reed, CEO at Scanstrut, and Bob Rudolph, VP for international sales at MIT Industries. Mei Reading, the global marketing director at the Griffin Group, will also join the committee this year as a guest member.
The METSTRADE Exhibition Committee is an advisory board which counts among its members executives from exhibiting companies linked to the METSTRADE Show, and acts as a voice for the global leisure marine industry. Several prominent individuals from the marine equipment sector have sat on the committee over the years, helping the exhibition grow with their strategic and substantive insights and experience. ICOMIA, the International Council of Marine Industry Associations, has special representation via a permanent seat given to its secretary general.
A range of subjects are addressed at the meetings of the committee, which take place three times a year. “It is tremendously valuable to get to sit down with these brilliant individuals from the sector as sparring partners, conceptual thinkers and developers of future ideas,” says Irene Dros, Maritime Director at RAI Amsterdam. “They are our eyes and ears in the market, and their opinion is invaluable to the METSTRADE concept each year.”
Saying goodbye to a friend and colleague
Committee members generally serve six years, and are replaced at an annual meeting that takes place in January. Candidates are proposed by existing members and voted on by the whole committee. The outgoing member is Ernie Ellis, president and principal shareholder of Metalcraft, Inc., the corporation which owns Sea-Fire Marine.
“Ernie was a fantastic asset to the committee, and always very reliable despite the distances,” Dros says. “He had unrivalled know-how regarding the global state of the sector, especially in his home country of the United States.” Ellis, too, is very enthusiastic about his six years in the METSTRADE Exhibition Committee. “Being a part of the committee brought networking opportunities, lifelong friendships and a means to make a true difference in the marine equipment community. The committee was like a second family.”
A wide range of new perspectives
Ernie Ellis will be replaced by Bob Rudolph, the vice president of international sales for MTI Industries in the United States. He grew up in boat yards and has worked as a mechanic, travel lift operator, service writer and captain. Before joining MTI Industries, Rudolph was also a manufacturer’s representative for a range of companies, including Icom, Xantrex, Vetus, Edson and Poly-Planar. His current job involves promoting MTI products to American boat manufacturers. Thanks to his experience in so many different positions, Rudolph feels that he can contribute a wide range of perspectives on the marine equipment sector to the METSTRADE Exhibition Committee.
Tom Reed, who joined the committee last year as a permanent member, is owner and CEO of outdoor technologies company Scanstrut Ltd and its USA subsidiary Scanstrut Inc. Designing and manufacturing innovative products that enable the use of technologies in the marine, RV, agriculture and outdoor spaces sectors, Scanstrut was overall winner of the DAME Award at METSTRADE 2017. “Our company has exhibited at METSTRADE since its very earliest days,” says Reed, an experienced inshore & offshore sailor who has competed at European and World Championship level. “I’m delighted to be involved in the committee and hope to bring some new ideas and experience to an already highly successful event."
Mei Reading, global marketing director at the Griffin Group, has joined the METSTRADE Exhibition Committee as a guest member for 2019 to provide insight into the Asian markets. Guest members change annually and are invited from the far corners of the world in order to help the committee keep a global perspective on the industry. “The Griffin Group has been exhibiting our filtration product at the METSTRADE show since 2011,” comments Reading. “It is an honour to be the first Asian on the exhibition committee and I look forward to contributing my insights and sharing my opinions on the Asia and Asia Pacific leisure marine industry.”
RAI Amsterdam and the METSTRADE team wish the existing and new members of the Exhibition Committee all the best and look forward to a fruitful cooperation over the coming year and beyond.
The other members of the METSTRADE Exhibitor Committee are:
