_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ North Sails

Cup or Volvo Ocean Race syndicates . Obviously , this helps me build my own credibility , which in turn brings North Sails value in ways that few people could . Like I said - a dream ride that ’ s far from over .

“ North Sails is a business built upon the idea that the best sailboat racers make great business leaders . Even as we entered our era of private equity ownership in 2016 , our new partners fully understood that this is a sailors ’ company , run by sailors using data and science as our guide . What really makes us stand out is the way in which we ’ ve been able to apply our core business values to push the limits of all our products .”

The company was started in 1957 by American sailor and Olympic gold medalist Lowell North in San Diego , California . Lowell was driven by science and had felt that up until that point , sailmaking in general had been a touch-and-feel craft . Although there

Contender , your trusted source for premium sailcloth and advanced textiles

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www . contendersailcloth . com was very little applicable research available at the time , his theory was purely scientific and is something that has been carried forward with the business to the present day .

“ We like to refer to ourselves as the scientific sailmaker ,” Ken explains . “ Our bespoke software and manufacturing processes have contributed to a wide array of industries . Today , North Sails sits alongside several other companies under the primary ownership group of Oakley Capital within the North Technology Group . These include marine businesses Southern Spars , Future Fibers , Rig Pro , North Action Sports , Hall Spars , and lifestyle brands North Actionsport and North Sails Apparel . The diverse North family covers everything from sails and masts to rigging and kiteboards to foul weather gear and casual wear .

“ North Sails is still the largest of the group and sort of keeps everything ticking along . There ’ s a lot of highs and lows in the marine world . Our former CFO used to call it a lumpy business , but the sailmaking division is the most consistent . We ’ ve also become a better-run company working alongside Oakley Capital , but they still leave us completely to the creative side , which means our innovation hats are on 24 hours a day . That ’ s what we ’ re best known for , but that innovation isn ’ t limited to high-performance

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