Since 1952, Imtra has supplied commercial and recreational vessels with doors, windows, thrusters, helm seating, lighting, wipers, and insulation, sourced from proven Scandinavian and Northern European manufacturers. Based in New Bedford, Mass., the company became 100% employee-owned in 2022 to preserve the customer-first culture it has built over seven decades.
In this interview, Commercial Sales Manager Rusty Morgan explains how Imtra serves the Pacific Northwest fleet, from regional technical support to stocking long-lead-time items so crews aren’t left waiting at the dock. He shares the story of a custom heated and cooled helm chair, developed at an Alaskan fisherman’s request, which will make its debut at Pacific Marine Expo this fall. He also previews new products on display, including a lightweight A60-rated aluminum door and new thruster options, and offers advice on what vessel owners should be asking before they buy.
Please give a brief overview of Imtra and the services it provides.
Imtra has been in business since 1952, based in New Bedford, Mass. We are a distributor and systems supplier of doors, windows, thrusters, seating, lighting, wipers, insulation, and more, with a long focus on bringing unique, high-quality products to commercial and recreational vessels. For many years, we were a family-owned business, run by two families that have deep connections to boating. As the industry began to aggressively consolidate through corporate buyouts and private equity, the owners realized that the focus for most marine business had shifted from customer-focused to profit-focused, and they decided to take a leap of faith. In order to preserve the culture that we have fostered for over 70 years, we became a 100% employee-owned company in 2022.
What is the company's connection to the Pacific Northwest commercial fishing fleet, and how does it work with and support the industry?
It’s no secret that there is a strong Scandinavian heritage in the fishing fleets of the PNW. The climate, the people, and the fishery are very similar. At Imtra, many of the products that we sell are sourced from proven Scandinavian and Northern European companies that have been supplying the fisheries of the Baltics, Barents, and North Sea for generations. The crossover was natural as we began to build a deeper catalog of commercial-focused products. So far, the reception from the fleet has been great, from Libra's Dutch doors and Norsap helm seats to Sleipner thrusters and Den Haan Rotterdam nav/search lights. We support the fleet with regional technical support, regular visits to shipyards, vessels, and builders, and keep stock of long lead-time products, so you aren’t waiting months at the dock.
Please walk us through a specific problem you solved for a fishing customer recently.
One of the things that sets Imtra apart is how we work with our vendors to influence the products they sell. We are not a manufacturer (despite some foolhardy attempts over the years), and when a customer has an unusual request, we do our best to see how we can support them. Recently, we received a request from an Alaskan fisherman for a heated/cooled helm seat for his extensive refit. This is not a product that Norsap offers, or any other seating supplier for that matter, and normally that would be a non-starter. We had been casually exploring a heated/cooled helm chair for a while, and this was the perfect opportunity. Within a month, we had the engineering team at Norsap’s blessing to go forward with some testing. After a few technical challenges, we were able to put together a functional prototype that we will be showing off at the Pacific Marine Expo this fall before the chair heads to its home in a wheelhouse up north. We like a challenge as much as we like pleasing our customers. We will see where this product heads from here, but being in a position to solve these types of things for our customers is what gives us pride in what we do, in addition to being a very ‘cool’ project!
What has changed for your customers in the past year or two, and how has that changed what you offer?
When we started to add more commercial-focused products to our lineup, we quickly realized that there was space in the market to take on more ambitious products on the shipbuilding side. The process of building a new boat, or even an extensive refit, is complicated, requiring input from the owner, the naval architect, and the shipbuilder alike. We found that we are well positioned to bridge the gap across those stakeholders and bring a personal touch to the process that is not common these days. We are now offering full packages of doors, windows, hatches, insulation, wipers, and lights that are type-approved to meet strict ABS/USCG requirements for classed vessels and can hold up to the harsh conditions that the PNW fleet faces.
What is Imtra bringing to PME this year, and what are the company's goals for the expo?
The Norsap 1500 heated/cooled helm chair has been an exciting project, but we also have a lot of other developments across product lines to show off. Libra has a new A60-rated Aluminum door that is 40% lighter than an equivalent steel door. Sleipner's new E-Vision DC thrusters rival hydraulic performance, with runtime limited only by available power. And if DC is not your cup of tea, we have also scaled our hydraulic thruster lineup up to a 29” diameter tunnel based on customer demand. Zipwake's new Pro series interceptors add active pitch control, a feature that's already drawing interest from sportboat and charter operators focused on passenger comfort. Our goal for the Expo is to share these developments with our customers and hopefully get some feedback on what we should do next.
Why does PME matter to your business? Has anything come out of a past show — a deal, a partnership, a project — that stuck with you?
The sheer geographic size of the PNW fishing world is staggering. Likewise, the diversity of customers: Alaskan king crabbers, factory trawlers, charter boats, and fishermen presents a unique challenge for companies to remain attentive to all of their needs. PME has always offered an excellent opportunity to hear from the variety of customers we serve and their unique challenges. At almost every show, we learn of a new build, or new project coming online, but one constant is the captains who stop by to sit in our Norsap helm seats. It is one of the highlights of every show to see the looks on folks’ faces as they imagine themselves in the comfort of Norwegian ergonomic bliss. That may seem like an exaggeration, but we typically bring extra seats to the show, as nearly every one of them gets sold and delivered to a happy skipper that week. There is something to be said for a tactile experience in today’s digital world that is hard to re-create through a screen.
If a fisherman or vessel owner is shopping for what your company provides, what should they be asking that most people don't?
Imtra has many years of technical experience when it comes to outfitting a vessel. Customers should be asking things like: Is the product type approved? How fast can I get it to Dutch Harbor? If something fails mid-season, we back it up with tech support and warranty service. We like to get into the weeds, show up at the shipyard, crawl into a bilge, and help figure out what works and what doesn’t. They shouldn’t be afraid to ask us to come out and work directly with the owner/port engineer/naval architect to find a solution if one exists. We may not always have exactly what is needed, but we will work hard to do our due diligence and make the customer happy.
What's next for the company after the show? Anything in development heading into 2027?
We are always looking to add new products to the lineup when it makes sense. 2027 is no different, so expect to see some new additions that will expand on our products that serve builders and designers. We have some exciting new offerings that may be released at PME, so stop by to see what is new!
Anything else you'd like to add, or that our readers should know?
I’d like to stress again that one of the things that makes Imtra special is that we are 100% employee-owned. We have folks who started in the shipping department and worked all the way up to the executive team. The people who make Imtra run are some of the most dedicated and passionate in the business and are now proud employee owners of our company that has become a staple of the marine industry. We're proud of our people, our products, and our legacy, and we hope that our customers feel at least some of this pride every time they see the Imtra box show up at the loading dock.
