Ehlert Publishing Acquires Powerboat Magazine
Ehlert Publishing Group, Inc., Maple Grove, Minn., has acquired Powerboat Magazine, the world’s leading performance boating publication.
The announcement was made by Steve Hedlund, president of Ehlert, and Jerry Nordskog, owner and president of Nordskog Publishing, Inc., based in Ventura, California.
“We are proud to add Powerboat to our growing stable of boating media,” said Hedlund. “Powerboat magazine is the unquestioned leader in the high-performance category, and it is an outstanding complement to our other titles in the boating market, which include Trailer Boats, Bass & Walleye Boats and WaterCraft World and Boating Industry.”
Powerboat magazine was founded in 1968 with a focus on performance boats, engines, poker runs, as well as race coverage. The magazine is well known for its “Performance Trials,” regarded as one of the industry’s most comprehensive and authoritative testing programs.
The magazine has been led in recent years by Nordskog and Associate Publisher Vicki Newton. “Joining forces with Ehlert further strengthens the magazine,” said Newton, “and it will help keep Powerboat a prime source for high-performance boating information.”
With the Ehlert acquisition, Powerboat will be brought under the umbrella of the Ehlert Boating Group, which is led by Group Publisher Wiley Poole. Newton will continue to serve as associate publisher and Gregg Mansfield will remain as editor. The magazine, which is published 11 times a year with distribution of 32,000, will continue to be based in Ventura.
Publisher of Powersports Business and more than 20 consumer magazines serving the boating, motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile and camping markets, Ehlert is a subsidiary of Affinity Group, Inc., the largest media, marketing and retail company serving the recreational vehicle marketplace.
