Triton Networking with the Refit Show

May 17, 2017 by Triton Staff

The Triton welcomes the organizers of the 2018 Refit conference as our sponsors for theTriton Networking event on the first Wednesday in June. Refit is a two-day conference and seminar in Fort Lauderdale, coming into its third year.

Until then, learn more about Refit, its organizers and its partnership with The Triton from Refit Show Director Jim Miller.

Tell us about the Refit show.

The Refit International Exhibition & Conference is a trade show and conference that provides education, training and networking opportunities to yacht refit professionals. There are a lot of industry shows where people can sell products, but the Refit Show is different. Networking is the essence of this event. We gather every contributor to the comprehensive refit process including yard owners, managers, yacht and boat designers and engineers, owners’ representatives, captains, marine surveyors, project managers, advanced technicians and skilled artisans. Together they talk, share ideas, and expand their capabilities.

Networking at the Refit Show takes place throughout the exhibit hall, seminars, and demonstrations. The event delivers a potent combination of practical education, emerging technologies, new products, service innovations, and B2B networking. From project conception to execution, from new hardware and equipment selection,to final sea trials with care for customer relations and retention, the Refit Show strengthens the future of this rapidly expanding industry.

The third annual Refit Show is Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 10-11, with special pre-conference workshops on Jan. 9. The event takes place at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale.

Why create a conference around this one little bit of the yacht industry?

Whether for a 10-year Lloyd’s survey or for a new owner’s customization, regular refits are a part of any yacht’s life. Unlike a yacht’s construction process, a refit is less straightforward than building from the ground up. A refit is rebuilding from the inside out, changing dated parts, equipment, systems and interiors. The project team expands to include not only designers and builders but also surveyors, captains and crew, engineers, subcontractors, stylists and more.

Many decisions for new parts are complicated by the old parts, and the complexity of the project can grow exponentially with the age of the yacht. Every successful refit extends a yacht’s value and lifetime.

Why should captains and crew of megayachts attend?

The Refit Show facilitates conversations, relationships, and idea generation. Captains and crew provide unique voices to every conversation about a yacht’s refit. They know their vessels intimately — their characteristics, quirks and challenges. The Refit Show gives captains and crew the opportunity to add their valuable voices to the conversations that are driving the refit industry.

At the same time, this is the only place they can hear directly from their peers in boatyards and manufacturing. Captains and crew who attend the Refit Show become familiar with new equipment, software, and materials that will enhance the yachts they manage.

This year, we’re expanding to include more education, training and sourcing opportunities that are relevant to captains and crew, which is why we’ve partnered with The Triton.

What’s your vision for the seminar program?

The Refit Show conference program is designed to be a forum for improving the refit process throughout yacht yards internationally. Our continuing goal is to provide real-world solutions to industry-wide challenges. Our speakers are successful and innovative professionals who want to share their ideas and hear others from the audiences. We encourage collaboration, so our audience members offer as many questions and thoughts as our speakers do.

Our conference covers business and legal topics as well as technical and hands-on training for everyone in the refit industry, including captains and crew.

We encourage readers of The Triton to contact us with their ideas for seminars, because we want to know we’re providing the information that people want and can’t get anywhere else.

Your background is in the boatbuilder and smaller boat crafts markets. Why did you want to partner with The Triton?

The Triton has a finger on the pulse of the yachting industry in a way no other publication or industry organization does. The writers and editors are a direct line to the captains and crews whose input we want in the Refit Show. In the coming years as the event grows and expands, we hope to develop more crew-specific seminars, demonstrations and training.

As the publishers of Professional BoatBuilder magazine, we have an audience of builders, designers, repairers and surveyors that is eager to connect with the captain and crew readers of The Triton. Working together, these groups can streamline the entire refit process through effective communication and a shared vision of a successful refit.

Join The Triton and Refit from 6-8 p.m. on June 7 in the parking lot in front of The Triton offices in the 17th Street Annex building behind Waxy’s, 1043 S.E. 17th St, in Fort Lauderdale (33316). No RSVP required. Just come prepared to meet some new people and enjoy great professional networking.

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