Electronic Navigation
Electronic Navigation Limited (ENL) is a New Zealand-based marine electronics company that manufactures the WASSP multibeam sonar system and exclusively distributes Furuno products in NZ, serving commercial fishing, recreational boating, defence, hydrographic survey, superyacht, and aquaculture markets across 30+ countries via 60+ NZ dealers and 40+ international distributors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1945
- HeadquartersAuckland, New Zealand
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Electronic Navigation does
Electronic Navigation Limited (ENL) is a New Zealand-incorporated marine electronics company headquartered in Auckland with a branch office in Nelson, founded in December 1945 and operating continuously for 80+ years. The company operates a dual business model: it is the exclusive New Zealand distributor for Furuno marine electronics (a relationship spanning 65+ years since 1960) and the in-house designer and manufacturer of the WASSP multibeam sounder system, with 3,000+ units deployed globally since the platform's 2006 launch. Furuno has held a majority stake in ENL since 2010, providing global distribution channels for WASSP through 40+ international distributors across 30+ countries.
ENL's product portfolio combines manufactured and distributed lines. Proprietary technology centres on WASSP multibeam sonar (F3, F3x, F3XL, S3, S3r, S3Pr, W3, W3P variants), with proprietary signal processing features including RezBoost digital filtering, ACCU-Fish size assessment, Bottom Discrimination seafloor classification, and TruEcho CHIRP. Distributed Furuno lines include fish finders, NavNet TZtouch XL multi-function displays, DRS-series solid-state Doppler radars, NAVPILOT autopilots, searchlight sonars, communications equipment, and supporting brands (Airmar transducers, TimeZero navigation software, KVH satellite comms, Marport net monitoring, Hy-Pro hydraulics, Hatteland displays).
ENL monetises primarily through hardware sales across commercial fishing (South Pacific tuna purse seiners, aquaculture such as Kelp Blue), recreational boating and fishing (long-tail SMB customers), defence, hydrographic survey, superyacht refit/new-build engineering, and workboat segments. Pricing is in NZD, with unit pricing for accessories (NZD $800-$3,000) and Price on Application for larger systems; payment terms include a 35% deposit. Go-to-market combines 60+ NZ dealers, direct enterprise sales from Auckland headquarters, an e-commerce store, 40+ international WASSP distributors, event participation (Hutchwilco Boat Show), and content marketing. The company holds ISO-9001 accreditation (since 2006) and is led by Managing Director Gareth Hodson with a leadership team spanning R&D, product management, sales/marketing, and systems engineering.
Electronic Navigation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Electronic Navigation
- Legal name
- Electronic Navigation Limited
- Website
- https://enl.co.nz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1945
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Electronic Navigation Limited (ENL) is a New Zealand-based marine electronics company that manufactures the WASSP multibeam sonar system and exclusively distributes Furuno products in NZ, serving commercial fishing, recreational boating, defence, hydrographic survey, superyacht, and aquaculture markets across 30+ countries via 60+ NZ dealers and 40+ international distributors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Electronic Navigation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Marine Electronics
- NAICS
- Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)
- SIC
- Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Marine Sensors, Instrumentation & IoT (Condition Monitoring) (IMAJAJAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Marine Navigation Systems (ECDIS, Radar, GNSS, AIS) (IMAJAJAE)
Keywords
Where Electronic Navigation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Auckland
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices2 records
Markets served
Electronic Navigation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marine Electronics Distribution: Importing and distribution of world-leading marine electronics brands including Furuno, with exclusive distribution rights in New Zealand. Products include fish finders, radar, GPS/chart plotters, sonar, autopilots, and accessories.
- WASSP Multibeam Sonar Manufacturing: ENL designs and manufactures WASSP multibeam sounder systems in New Zealand for commercial fishing, sport fishing, hydrographic survey, superyacht, and defence sectors. Third generation system has been sold globally with over 3,000 systems deployed.
- Engineering Services: Systems integration services with focus on superyachts, refit support, new build installations, and WASSP Wireless solutions for superyacht tenders.
- Accessories and Components: Wide range of transducers, cables, mounting equipment, monitors, and ancillary marine electronics components.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Weather Instruments - Airmar 110WX |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Transducers - B260 Thru-Hull |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Fish Finder Modules - BBDS1 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Navigation Software - TZ-Professional |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Hydraulic Components - Hy-Pro Reversing Pumps |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Electronic Navigation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ENL designs and manufactures the WASSP multibeam sonar family in New Zealand and is the exclusive New Zealand distributor of Furuno marine electronics under a 65-year-old partnership. The company supplies fish finders, multibeam sonars, radar, GPS/chart plotters, autopilots, sonar, transducers, navigation software, and communications to commercial fishing, recreational boating, superyacht, hydrographic survey, defence, and aquaculture customers, complemented by systems integration, refit and new-build engineering services.
Product overview
ENL operates as both a manufacturer and exclusive distributor of marine electronics, offering a comprehensive portfolio centered on two core product lines: WASSP multibeam sounder systems (manufactured in New Zealand) and Furuno marine electronics (globally distributed). The WASSP line includes F3/F3x/F3XL for fishing, S3/S3r/S3Pr for surveys, and W3/W3P wireless systems for superyachts and defense applications. The Furuno portfolio encompasses fish finders (FCV, DFF3-UHD, CSH sonar), multi-function displays (NavNet TZtouch XL series), solid-state Doppler radars (DRS NXT and X-Class series), autopilots (NAVPILOT 300/711C), and communications equipment. Supporting product categories include Airmar transducers, TimeZero navigation software, KVH satellite communications, Sanshin searchlights, Marport net monitoring, Navitron steering controls, Hatteland displays, Hy-Pro hydraulic steering, Olorin monitors, and NMEA networking components. ENL serves commercial fishing, recreational boating, defense, hydrographic survey, superyacht, and aquaculture markets through a network of 60+ dealers in New Zealand and 40+ international WASSP distributors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- WASSP: World-leading multibeam sounder system designed and manufactured by ENL in New Zealand, used across commercial fishing, defence, mapping, surveying, and superyacht sectors. Distributed in more than 30 countries.
Products and services
- WASSP Multibeam Sounder World-leading multibeam sonar designed and manufactured by ENL in New Zealand. Profiles the water column and seafloor with 224 beams across a 120-degree wide-angle view, covering F3, F3x, F3XL, S3, S3r, S3Pr, W3 and W3P variants for commercial fishing, hydrographic survey, superyacht and defence sectors.
- Furuno Fish Finders Distributed fish finder line including FCV series, DFF3-UHD TruEcho CHIRP, BBDS1 network sounders and CSH sonar systems, featuring RezBoost digital signal processing, ACCU-Fish size assessment, Bottom Discrimination and TruEcho CHIRP technologies for commercial and recreational fishing vessels.
- Furuno NavNet TZtouch XL Advanced multi-function display (MFD) series including TZT13X, TZT16X, TZT19F, TZT22X and TZT24X with built-in CHIRP sounders, radar integration, TZ-MAPS charting and TZ-Weather features for recreational and commercial vessels.
- Furuno DRS Series Radars Solid-state Doppler radar systems including DRS2D-NXT, DRS4D-NXT, DRS6A-NXT, DRS12A-NXT and DRS25A-NXT dome and array models with Target Analyzer and Fast Target Tracking capabilities for recreational and commercial vessels.
- Furuno NAVPILOT Autopilots Self-learning adaptive autopilot systems including NAVPILOT 300 and NAVPILOT 711C for recreational and commercial vessels, with gesture control options available.
Quantifiable outcome
- WASSP systems profile the seabed 100 times faster than single-beam echo sounders
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Electronic Navigation
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Electronic Navigation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability6 records
Feature6 records
Electronic Navigation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- FurunoflagshipENL has been the exclusive distributor of Furuno products in New Zealand for more than 60 years since 1960. This is one of the longest-standing relationships in the marine electronics industry, built on shared values of reliability, precision, and commitment to marine users.
- WASSP International DistributorscoreMore than 40 WASSP distributors worldwide serving commercial fishing, hydrographic survey, defence, research, and superyacht sectors in 30+ countries.
- ENL Dealer NetworkcoreMore than 60 dealers across New Zealand providing sales, installation and support services for Furuno, WASSP and other ENL products. Dealers include Bay Marine Electronics, Marine Services Wanganui, McKay Ltd, Nautic Electronics, Navcom Electronics, and Pine Harbour Electrical.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Electronic Navigation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Airmar Technology: Airmar is a leading marine transducer supplier whose products ENL distributes in New Zealand as part of its Furuno ecosystem. Airmar is a supplier rather than direct competitor, but its CHIRP transducers underpin the marine electronics stack across the industry.
Direct peers
- Navico (Simrad, Lowrance, B&G): Navico owns Simrad, Lowrance, and B&G — direct competitors to ENL/Furuno across recreational fishing electronics, commercial fishing sonars, and sailing navigation. Simrad's professional fishing and commercial sonars are particularly relevant to ENL's WASSP and Furuno offerings.
- Garmin Marine: Garmin's marine division competes directly with ENL/Furuno across chartplotters, fish finders, radar, and autopilots for recreational and commercial vessels. Garmin is one of the largest marine electronics brands globally and overlaps with ENL's recreational fishing and OEM product lines.
- Raymarine (Teledyne FLIR): Raymarine is a direct competitor to ENL/Furuno in marine electronics — multifunction displays, fish finders, radar, sonar, and autopilots for recreational and light commercial vessels. Raymarine's Axiom and Element series compete head-to-head with Furuno NavNet TZtouch systems.
- Humminbird (Johnson Outdoors): Humminbird is a major fish finder and marine electronics brand competing directly with ENL-distributed Furuno products in the recreational fishing segment, including CHIRP sonar, side imaging, and multifunction displays.
- Japan Radio Co. (JRC): JRC is a Japanese marine electronics manufacturer of radars, GPS, fish finders, gyrocompasses, and GMDSS communications — overlapping with ENL's distributed Furuno portfolio and serving the same commercial shipping and fishing segments, particularly across Asia.
Broad incumbents
- Teledyne Marine: Teledyne Marine offers multibeam sonars, subsea imaging, and acoustic instruments that compete with WASSP in hydrographic survey, defence, and ocean research markets. Significant R&D scale and deep naval/defence channel relationships.
- Kongsberg Maritime: Kongsberg Maritime is a leading supplier of hydrographic multibeam sonars, defence sonars, and integrated bridge systems — directly overlapping with WASSP's expansion into hydrographic survey and defence applications. Much larger scale and longer track record in survey-grade systems.
- Furuno Electric: Furuno is ENL's majority parent and the global marine electronics brand ENL exclusively distributes in New Zealand. Furuno's fish finders, radars, and sonars are technologically adjacent to ENL's offerings, and Furuno's broader portfolio competes in the same end markets (commercial fishing, defence, hydrographic).
Emerging players
- R2Sonic: R2Sonic is a niche multibeam sonar specialist focused on high-resolution hydrographic and survey applications, competing with WASSP in the survey/defence segment. Smaller than Kongsberg or Teledyne but technologically focused on next-generation multibeam performance.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Electronic Navigation social profiles
Digital presenceElectronic Navigation compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Electronic Navigation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Electronic Navigation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Electronic Navigation subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Electronic Navigation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Electronic Navigation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Electronic Navigation
What does Electronic Navigation do?
ENL designs and manufactures the WASSP multibeam sonar family in New Zealand and is the exclusive New Zealand distributor of Furuno marine electronics under a 65-year-old partnership. The company supplies fish finders, multibeam sonars, radar, GPS/chart plotters, autopilots, sonar, transducers, navigation software, and communications to commercial fishing, recreational boating, superyacht, hydrographic survey, defence, and aquaculture customers, complemented by systems integration, refit and new-build engineering services.
Is Electronic Navigation a public or private company?
Electronic Navigation is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Electronic Navigation founded?
Electronic Navigation was founded in 1945. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Electronic Navigation based?
Electronic Navigation is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Electronic Navigation make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Marine Electronics Distribution is the primary driver. The others are WASSP Multibeam Sonar Manufacturing, engineering Services and accessories and Components.
Who are Electronic Navigation's main competitors?
Airmar Technology is listed as an others. Direct peers are Navico (Simrad, Lowrance, B&G), Garmin Marine, Raymarine (Teledyne FLIR), Humminbird (Johnson Outdoors) and Japan Radio Co. (JRC). Broad incumbents are Teledyne Marine, Kongsberg Maritime and Furuno Electric. R2Sonic is listed as an emerging player.
Does Electronic Navigation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Electronic Navigation.
What industry is Electronic Navigation in?
Electronic Navigation's product category is Marine Electronics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAJAJAI, Marine Sensors, Instrumentation & IoT (Condition Monitoring), with a secondary code of IMAJAJAE, Marine Navigation Systems (ECDIS, Radar, GNSS, AIS). Its NAICS code is 334511 and its SIC code is 3812.