Balex Marine makes the finals of international design awards

Media Release

Balex Marine makes the finals of major International DAME marine design awards

Tauranga, 14 November, 2016 - Balex Marine’s innovative Automatic Boat Loader (ABL) has been named a finalist in the prestigious international DAME Design Awards at the METS (Marine Equipment Trade Show) in Amsterdam.

Bay of Plenty-based Balex is in the finals for Marina & Boatyard Equipment, one of seven categories, with winners due to be announced at METS - Europe’s biggest marine trade show - this week.

“This is fantastic news,” said Balex Chief Executive Paul Symes. “The awards are hotly contested and we were competing against the best products in the global marine industry. The nomination reflects the judging panel’s appreciation that the ABL makes boating safe, stress-free and fun, and will really power up our international market push into Europe and the US.”

Bill Dixon, Chairman of the DAME Award jury, and owner of the global design house Dixon Yacht Design, said the finalists met the industry’s need for products that were interesting and make boating easier, exciting, enjoyable, comfortable and less stressful.  “In the marine industry, we collectively need to make boating much more fun for the end user,” he said. “This year’s nominations provide great cause for believing we are heading in the right direction.”

The ABL has begun to attract interest in Europe and the US, after a positive reception from the marine industry in New Zealand and Australia, where it is now working with leading industry partners.  The ABL is a patented world-first disruptive marine technology that solves a universal problem for boaties by allowing them to remotely control the launch and retrieval of trailer boats at the ramp.  Future details are available here - https://youtu.be/s5DRToiYhJM

The DAME awards, which have been running for 25 years, set the pace for new concepts and designs in the worldwide leisure marine industry. Only METS exhibitors can take part in the awards. The jury assesses entries for overall design, build quality, functionality, and use of materials, as well as originality, ergonomics and price/quality ratio.

Balex last month completed a successful capital offer on Snowball Effect of $330,500 bringing the current round total to $815,000. Balex are targeting an additional $685,000 to complete this round and actively pursuing opportunities to secure a strategic cornerstone investor.  Balex had previously raised $2.2 million since the company was launched in late 2013.

The new capital is being used to strengthen the company’s push into Australia, Europe and North America.

About Balex Marine’s ABL

·       The remote controlled, hydraulically powered ABL can be used on trailer boats from 5-9 meters, and up to 2,500kg.

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