Busy Show, Major Press Event and CLEAN OCEAN PROJECT Clean Up Party Make for Another Successful FLIBS
What better way to cap off a successful run at the 2024 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) than by putting your company’s passion for the environment into action? This is precisely what Suzuki Marine USA did the morning of Saturday, November 2, the penultimate day of one of the world’s largest recreational boating and yachting shows. The Suzuki Krewe hit popular Las Olas Beach in Fort Lauderdale with gloves, buckets, grabbers, and trash bags to remove all sorts of garbage and debris from this popular family beach and prepare it for proper disposal.
As it has been done for three consecutive years at FLIBS, the Suzuki Marine Krewe showed up in force, ready to leave an important stretch of coastline better than they found it. They were joined by various volunteers, including one team from Florida, Atlantic Marine, an authorized Suzuki Marine dealer. In addition, members of the beachgoing public saw what Suzuki was doing and joined in the effort, receiving free passes for FLIBS that could be used over the weekend. When the morning was done, trash buckets were brimming, the group having collected and bagged up more than 101 pounds of trash. Considering that most of this trash is small pieces of plastic — the very thing that leads to the pervasive problem of micro plastics pollution in our oceans — this collective amount is even more impressive and impactful.
The Suzuki Krewe had been plenty busy leading up to this, as well. Suzuki wrapped up the first day of the boat show with its trademark press reception, packing its expansive convention center booth with boating editors, writers, and bloggers, media representatives, area dealers, boat building partners, and factory VIPs. Suzuki Marine General Manager Sales and Marketing Brandon Cerka addressed the crowd, recapping Suzuki’s successful year and introducing some key sales initiatives and new products. Suzuki Marine really got the crowd’s attention with the announcement of an industry leading 7-Year Limited Factory Warranty on all new Suzuki V6 outboards between now and the end of the year. In 2021, Suzuki increased their recreational-use limited warranty to 5 years on all new Suzuki motors from our portable 2.5 to the flagship 350 V6. This 7-Year Limited Factory Warranty is on any new Suzuki V6 200, 225, 250, 300 or 350 outboards for recreational use that. There is no participation by the dealer or the customer. Cerka said, “When you have a reputation for rugged reliability, you have to back it up with the strongest warranty in the business and this provides boaters more peace of mind and worry-free boating”.
Suzuki also announced the “re-launch” of its 200HP V6 outboard, giving boaters who need a 200HP outboard the choice between the low-end torque and hole shot of a big-block V6 or the all-around performance, fuel efficiency and light weight of Suzuki’s popular in-line 4 cylinder 200. Lastly on the product front, Suzuki Marine unveiled the two newest additions to the popular Stealth Line family, making their first appearance in any Suzuki boat show booth during FLIBS.
Cerka also announced a special Hurricane Rebate Program to help boaters impacted by the recent storms that hit Florida and the Southeast U.S, providing double rebates across the board on any new Suzuki outboard. To benefit from this, boaters just need to go to their authorized Suzuki Marine dealer and provide photographic proof of their storm-damaged boat or property. This limited time double rebate — running through the end of the year — applies to any new Suzuki outboard whether it’s a repower or a new boat/motor package.
Cerka completed the press presentation covering Suzuki Marine’s many CLEAN OCEAN PROJECT initiatives, such as the ongoing success of Suzuki’s exclusive Micro Plastics Collecting Device on all 115 and 140HP motors, Suzuki’s company-wide efforts to reduce waste while switching to more sustainable alternatives in the packaging and shipping of its products, and of course, beach clean-up events around the country. Suzuki’s CLEAN OCEAN PROJECT was prominent throughout the show, including having a separate CLEAN OCEAN PROJECT booth in the convention center and sponsored recycling bins placed throughout the show grounds to help facilitate the show’s sustainability efforts. Suzuki Marine was also named a finalist in the second annual FLIBS Sustainability Awards sponsored by non-profit organization Marine Research Hub and later met with the group’s director to explore new ways to promote sustainability and Florida’s “Blue Economy.”
“We had a great show, thanks in large part to the effort and teamwork put in by the entire Suzuki Marine Krewe and our dealer participation,” said Cerka. “We started strong with our press reception and kept the momentum going right through the end of the show. It was great to meet with our industry partners, press, and customers face to face and share all that we have going on at Suzuki Marine.”
