The Marine Electronics Hub
This morning started with a bang when it was announced that Brunswick is buying Navico for $1.05 billion. The acquisition will close in the second half of 2021 so it’s still early days and both companies’ communications are pretty general. The plan is for Navico CEO Knut Frostad’s leadership team to remain in place and report to Brunswick Advanced Systems Group president Brett Dibkey.
Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Navico, a global leader in marine electronics and sensors for $1.05 billion. As a result of this acquisition, Brunswick will add the industry leading brands of Lowrance, Simrad, B&G, and C-MAP to its Advanced Systems Group (ASG), which includes the leading Parts & Accessories (P&A) brands in power management, digital control and monitoring, and networked devices.
Installing electronics on a boat is often a solitary experience and leaves one with time to think. Recently, while installing a camera, I found myself thinking about the significant differences in what each manufacturer includes with their equipment. What I realized is that comparing the cost of the item doesn’t tell the full story.
I’ve just completed an entire electronics refit on a 60-foot boat without ever plugging in a power tool. Besides never having to find a working AC outlet, and never tripping over a power cord, I think that my families of drills, drivers, saws, grinders, vacuums, and heat gun with interchangeable lithium batteries made the job faster and neater. There are many decent cordless tool families to choose from these days, but some detail on my experience may help you make the right choice.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. today announced a strategic alliance with Siren Marine, manufacturer of marine-based IoT (Internet of Things) solutions. It is Yamaha’s most recent step to reinforce CommandBlue™, a philosophy that represents a commitment to move engineering and development into the realm of the customer, ultimately delivering products that are easier to use and creating greater satisfaction and confidence on the water.
Many of us in the marine electronics industry got a gut-punch of an email yesterday afternoon. Dan Harper, the founder and CEO of Siren Marine, just died at age 51, and Siren sent a...
SEND is not a commonly used acronym, but it’s especially worth understanding because Garmin just acquired GEOS Worldwide, the company that runs “the only global Search and Rescue Coordination Center for Satellite Emergency Notification Devices (S.E.N.D.).” If you own a Garmin inReach this is almost undoubtedly good news, but what about boaters who use other SEND distress, tracking, and messaging systems like Globalstar Spot, Iridium GO, Inmarsat IsatPhone, Zoleo, Skymate Mazu, and others?…
Teledyne Technologies and Flir have announced that Teledyne will buy FLIR for 7.36 billion dollars. This is certainly an interesting development given FLIR’s March 2020 announcement that they wanted to sell Raymarine. That was...
“Furuno Connections” is back, and Furuno is bringing something very special for Season 2. They’ve outfitted four boats with complete electronics packages, one from each of their major competitors and one with NavNet TZtouch3, and they are taking you out on the water to put all of these systems through their paces in a head-to-head product shootout! …
Nineteen companies who make marine-related merchandise have come together to raise money for those affected financially by the coronavirus pandemic. Nineteen for 19, organized by ugo wear, a maker of waterproof electronics cases, is a fundraiser to benefit Modest Needs Foundation, a nonprofit that provides emergency relief for individuals and families in need…
