Our new joint marine team of The Switch Norway, The Switch US and The Switch Finland made their debut at this year’s Electric & Hybrid Marine World Expo in Tampa, Florida, from January 16–18. A shiny new Power Drive on the stand and bold stand graphics caught the eye of many visitors and led to high-quality business discussions.
Asbjørn Halsebakke from The Switch says: “This particular show is actually a rather small expo with only a handful of exhibitors, but the focus of the expo has shifted towards larger vessels, which is exactly where we want to be.”
“Having a drive there created a lot of interest and was a clear benefit for us. There were a few system integrators who were very interested in us and our products. And many other good leads and contacts. So, we will be busy following up with them,” Asbjørn continues. “Not everybody had heard of The Switch – but now they know!”
Peter Reindl, Director of Engineering of The Switch US, held a presentation on Tuesday, January 17, based on Dr Jussi Puranen’s work from Finland that explained the advantages of permanent magnet technology in marine drive trains over conventional ones. Several attendees came up to talk directly after the presentation with The Switch representatives. They said that the presentation helped them understand the technology better.
Peter describes: “For me, the biggest takeaway is that electric marine continues to grow – and batteries are an ever more important component. The people that visited our booth had a high level of technical competence. People were impressed with the power density of the power converter and that it had the current capability in such a small package.”
Risto Ahvo, General Manager of The Switch US, adds: “Electric propulsion business is growing, and this expo is just right kind of a show for us. Not too crowded – and the visitors were clearly interested in our technology.
“The Power Drive served well as a magnet to bring people to our stand. They were especially interested in the compact, rugged design. The Switch is new in this market and many of the visitors did not know us before, but this show really helped spread the word,” Risto sums up.
Together, the joint Finnish/Norwegian/US team had a lot of fun while promoting our latest products in the US!