Best described as a joyfully frenetic lifeforce, Michigan’s Lori Lemanske had a rare boisterous moment—who are we kidding—when asked why she and her husband, Bill, are so loyal to the Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats brand during the Fort Myers, Fla., company’s 30th Anniversary Gala Celebration at the Westin Cape Coral Resort in April. The Lemanskes have owned two Nor-Tech center consoles and their third, another 39-footer, is under construction.

Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats turns 30 this year—and the party officially kicked off in the spring with an owners event in Southwest Florida. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

“Are you kidding?” she hollered and howled with laughter. “Trond and Nils and everyone at Nor-Tech are family. We love them and we love the boats. We could never leave them.”

That kind of brand loyalty, something you’ll see a lot of if you talk to Nor-Tech owners, doesn’t happen overnight. In Nor-Tech’s case it has taken years and not just years of hard work. Years of learning, growth and—most important— evolution. The company founded by Norwegians Trond Schou and Nils Johnsen is not even close to the same company it was when they came to the United States in 1981.

“We’re Norwegian, so, you know we do things a little differently,” Schou told a rapt audience of almost 600 people during his banquet speech, then paused to laugh. “We started with the bigger boat, then moved to the smaller boats, and now we’re moving back to bigger boats.”

The crowd roared with approval.

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