The Swiss Boatbuilders Association dates back to 1935, when a dozen boatbuilders got together to seek ways of combating the recession that was stifling their business at the time and to secure supplies of imported materials and equipment. In the years since, the SBV`s membership has grown to 150 companies. There are only a dozen boatbuilding members, producing motor boats, fishing boats, racing boats and sailboats. They are outnumbered by companies engaged in repairing, storing, transporting boats, marine engine companies, sailing and motor boating schools, insurance companies, marina operators and so on. Altogether some 1200 people work in the industry, which achieves a turnover of some Sw Fr 750 million a year. The Association`s activities and services are broad ranging. It holds two autumn meetings, one in French and one in Swiss German, and supports national boat shows. It is also actively involved in trade education, training young men and women to become skilled boatbuilders. The training is comprehensive: all trainees, even if intending to make a career in repair or maintenance work, are required to build a boat during their courses. The Swiss boat market is currently dogged by low sales, but the industry remains generally optimistic about the future. Two of the major constraints are a chronic lack of marina berths and some of the most draconian regulations in Europe. Environmental pressure on the industry has been SBV`s main priority area for the last two years. The world`s strongest exhaust regulations for marine engines (on the Swiss lakes and Bodensee) have slowed sales of outboard and inboard engines. The Association`s clear message to the Swiss authorities is that responsible boating is not harmful to the environment.