Press Releases

June 27, 2005, Edgewater, MD: As a result of the American Boat & Yacht Council's attendance at the Shanghai International Boat Show and Forum in April 2005, ABYC has recently realized the positive effects of this visit through the addition of four new members from the People's Republic of China (PRC).

ABYC's President Skip Burdon was invited to attend the Shanghai International Boat Show and Forum to participate in a general session regarding marine standards development and use. "As U.S. boat, marine accessory and sub-component manufacturers use product produced throughout Asia, their Asian partners need to understand, comply with and build to industry standards," noted Skip Burdon, ABYC's President.

Over one hundred receptive attendees were introduced to the ABYC mission and its standards during the session and as a result, four Chinese members have joined ABYC in May and June, signaling an increased interest in complying with consensus-based marine standards. The four new members include Silver Marine International, Shanghai Mercury Consulting, Sunbird Yachts/Padden Creek Marine and Genuine Marine. Ltd..

The continued growth of ABYC in the international boating industry has ABYC President, Skip Burdon, optimistic concerning marine safety and the leveling of the competitive playing field. "Cooperation and compliance to internationally recognized standards between all ABYC members, both domestic and foreign will help improve marine safety through compliance to standards and minimization of unauthorized replication of industry recognized branded product," stated Burdon. Burdon continued, "Open dialog between all ABYC members, both foreign and domestic will also improve and level the competitive playing field."

"Asia's recent economic boom and its emerging affluent consumer society is now contributing to a marked interest in recreational products; to include boats, yachts and marine related goods and services. These new consumers are hungry for American and European branded marine products because of their quality and reliability. ABYC membership for foreign manufacturers will ultimately result in increased safety for boaters in the United States and around the world because product will be produced using a industry accepted, consensus based, standards development process that has stood the test of time for over 50 years," concluded Burdon.

ABYC has been developing, writing and updating the safety standards for boat building and repair in the United States for over 50 years. ABYC is an active participant in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), as well as, is a world leader in workforce education, training and certification programs for marine technicians. ABYC standards are available to its members on CD-ROM, online (Web-STIR) and in printed form. Membership and general information can be requested by visiting the ABYC web site at www.abycinc.org.