SABBEX celebrates in style at annual industry awards
The SABBEX annual awards evening at Cape Town’s Kelvin Grove set a new attendance record this year, pulling a vocal crowd of over 300. The event has grown in popularity in recent years and is a fitting tribute to one of South Africa’s fastest-growing economic sectors.
This year’s ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ theme honoured both industry stalwarts and ‘rising stars’, with an even spread of awards across multiple yards and suppliers. Guest speakers included the City’s head of economic development James Vos, a keen advocate of the boatbuilding sector. “Cape Town’s boatbuilding industry has reached new oceans of opportunity,” Vos told the Kelvin audience. “We’ve got a product here that makes Cape Town very competitive and takes us to the cutting edge of new technologies.”
He said he was confident South Africa would soon become the world’s biggest producer of leisure catamarans: “We’ll get to that number one spot soon,” Vos added.
Visit the Boating South Africa website to view the full list of winners and special mentions. Pictures of the event are also available upon request.