November 26, 2021  Yacht Devices at METS Trade 2021

  • DAME Design Award 2021 Ceremony
  • Yacht Devices booth at METS Trade 2021
  • Yacht Devices visitors
  • Yacht Devices visitors
  • Working model of Outboard Gateway installation
  • Not bad for lockdown
  • Free space at METS Trade
  • METS Trade 2021
  • Terminator or candy?

We broke the Covid blockade and want to thank all the visitors who decided not to cancel their trip despite the lockdown in the Netherlands and visited our booth.

The METS Trade expo is the #1 one B2B event in marine electronics, and for us it is great time to meet our partners from all the world in person. Last year's expo was canceled, and we missed Amsterdam and our friends very much.

When we were applying for EU visas, the consulate was closed for ten days on lockdown and our passports were locked in the consulate's safe. We got our visas two days before the flight, but one day before that flight we learned that the Netherlands government had announced their own lockdown in the evening. The expo had every opportunity to be canceled. So, there were many worries and doubts, but we safely reached Amsterdam with all our equipment.

According to the official statistics, the number of unique visitors decreased from 17564 in 2019 to 8459 in 2021. This coinciding with our expectations: about half of our dealers informed us that they canceled due to the lockdown and the Covid situation in the Netherlands. It seemed to us that about 20% of the paid booths were empty, and about 20% of the expo space (in 2019 there was no free space at all) was transformed to chill out zones.

We expected the expo to have modest results for us, but surprisingly we got many new contacts, and the overall performance was comparable with the pre-Covid era. Maybe because the number of exhibitors was smaller, or maybe our new Outboard Gateway was nominated for the DAME Design Award so we got some extra attention at the Award ceremony.

The winner in the marine electronics category this year is the Garmin Surround View Camera System. However, we are proud that the jury selected us as a nominee. The Outboard Gateway has a simple idea: it is tiny product, which reads engine revolutions from a spark plug wire without electrical contact, counts engine hours and measures the voltage.

However, is has a great mission: it stimulates users of small boats to replace fish finders with modern MFDs using NMEA 2000. It brings cartography and supply boaters more navigation data, more alarms and alerts, and allows an extended number of digital sensors on board. For example, an analog gauge cannot warn you that fuel is low, and a voltmeter cannot warn you that the battery is dead. So, using modern electronics increases safety and comfort on board, and we believe that our tiny product will prove to be a huge factor in favor of upgrading for small boats.

Along with the Outboard Gateway, we presented the Battery Monitor, which was announced two years ago, but delayed because of the pandemic and chip crisis. It is ready to order now!

Lastly, we presented the Tank Adapter YDTA-04, which is electrically similar to the YDTA-01 model, but has inputs for four tanks. This product will be available on our web site starting next week. If you want to learn more about Tank Adapter YDTA-04 right now, we have updated catalogues in all languages and you can download one. On the last page, you'll find information about the product upcoming in 2022; we expect that it could become our flagman for the next few years. Alternatively, you can check the manual. We also updated the media kit, and you can get hi-res photos of new products.

And the main thing: we all safely returned to home, got negative PCR tests and started answering emails. We are very glad that the exhibition was so successful.

We thank everyone who visited us, and many thanks especially to our friends in Germany and Netherlands who helped to us complete this risky venture!

 

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