OLATHE, Kan.– Garmin® International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN), the world’s largest1 and most innovative marine electronics manufacturer, today announced that it was named Manufacturer of the Year for the seventh consecutive year by members of the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) at its annual business meeting and awards banquet held Sept. 23 in Orlando, Fla. The coveted Manufacturer of the Year honor is given to the most recognized company in the marine electronics industry for excellence in product service and support in the field.
Garmin was also awarded five NMEA Product of Excellence awards in the multi-function display (MFD), autopilot, safety, multimedia entertainment and mobile application—utility categories. These awards are voted on by NMEA dealers who specialize in installing marine electronics, qualified NMEA technicians and fellow marine electronics manufacturers.
“We are incredibly humbled to again be named the NMEA Manufacturer of the Year and for so many of our products to be recognized with top accolades in their categories,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales. “These awards go beyond the products; they represent Garmin’s steadfast commitment to excellence and reliability among our industry colleagues and customers, and are a true testament to the work and dedication of our entire team. ”
This year’s NMEA Product of Excellence honors include:
Multi-function display – GPSMAP® 8616xsv; this 16-inch chartplotter with a full HD in-plane switching (IPS) display with multi-touch control comes preloaded with the latest BlueChart® g3 coastal cartography and LakeVü g3 maps with integrated Navionics® data and Auto Guidance2 The GPSMAP 8616xsv offers anglers exceptional sonar detail with built-in support for a wide range of CHIRP traditional and scanning sonars, Ultra High-Definition scanning sonar, and the entire Panoptix™ all-seeing sonar line, including Panoptix LiveScope™ live scanning sonar, recipient of the 2018 NMEA Technology of the Year award. This is Garmin’s seventh consecutive honor in this category.
Autopilot – Reactor™ 40 Hydraulic Autopilot with SmartPump v2; the Reactor was Garmin’s first recreational autopilot system to utilize AHRS technology and boasts usability, installation flexibility, and many other features that prove to be valuable for any vessel. For nine years running, Garmin has been awarded the top spot in the autopilot category.
Safety device – GPSMAP 86sci; with Garmin’s premium marine handheld with inReach® capabilities mariners can stay in touch globally—no matter how far offshore they may be—and if necessary, trigger an SOS to a 24/7 staffed global emergency response coordination center via the 100% global Iridum® satellite network. The GPSMAP 86sci is preloaded with Bluechart g3 coastal cartography and can connect to onboard Garmin chartplotters and instruments to stream real-time boat data for added awareness and convenience.
Multimedia Entertainment – Fusion® Apollo™ RA770; this marine entertainment system was the world’s first touchscreen marine stereo with Apple AirPlay®, built-in Wi-Fi and network audio sharing capabilities. This is Garmin’s sixth consecutive win in this category.
Marine application, utility – ActiveCaptain®; a free all-in-one mobile app for mariners, ActiveCaptain delivers a seamless content management system with access to cartography, automatic delivery of the latest software available, off-vessel planning capabilities, connected services and so much more. This extends Garmin’s winning streak in this category to seven years.
Earlier this week, Garmin was also named a Top 10 Most Innovative Marine Company for 2021 by Soundings Trade Only. This award honors forward-thinking companies that are transforming the future of the marine industry through new initiatives, processes, technologies and more. This is Garmin’s fourth consecutive year to be named to this prestigious list of innovative companies.
Engineered on the inside for life on the outside, Garmin products have revolutionized life for anglers, sailors, mariners and boat enthusiasts everywhere. Committed to developing the most sophisticated marine electronics the industry has ever known, Garmin believes every day is an opportunity to innovate and a chance to beat yesterday. For more information, visit Garmin’s virtual pressroom at garmin.com/newsroom, email [email protected], or follow us at facebook.com/garmin, twitter.com/garminnews, instagram.com/garmin and linkedin.com/company/garmin.
1 Based on 2020 reported sales
2 Auto Guidance is for planning purposes only and does not replace safe navigation operations
