BVM Feb 2016 - page 25

Business View - February 2016 25 RETAIL
trepreneur - letting people drive their own boats, and
not just small ones. Gordy was one of the first to give
people something a little larger: an 18 foot runabout
with a 60 or 90 horsepower engine that you drove
with a steering wheel,” says Whowell. Throughout the
1960’s, the rental business flourished. Manufacturers
custom-made boats for Gordy to rent and people lined
up at the door every morning to experience the joys of
speed boating.
In 1969, Gordy bought Chuck’s Bar, a local hangout
down the street from the marina, and began spending
www.volvopenta.com/us
Volvo Penta, with approximately 4,000 dealers in
more than 130 countries, is a global manufacturer
of engines for leisure boats and commercial vessels,
as well as industrial applications. The propulsion
program includes diesel and gasoline engines with
power outputs between 10 and 900 horsepower.
Volvo Penta is part of the Volvo Group, one of the
world’s leading manufacturers of heavy trucks, buses
and construction equipment.
Volvo Penta is widely recognized throughout the
industry as a pioneer of new technologies. The
company has been responsible for an impressive list
of innovations through the years. Volvo Penta was
the first to introduce the marine sterndrive, saildrive,
dual counter-rotating props, joystick controls, IPS,
glass cockpit and—most recently—the revolutionary
Forward Drive. Volvo Penta’s next-generation
all-aluminum gas engines, introduced last year,
are packed with innovative features like variable
valve timing, direct fuel injection, wideband oxygen
sensors and closed loop freshwater cooling—which
bring to the market new levels of performance, fuel
economy and low emissions.
Most important, Volvo Penta provides peace of
mind with full helm-to-prop integration and industry-
leading warranty programs. The company has won
12 consecutive customer satisfaction awards from
the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
THE INNOVATORS