NeilPryde Sails
Summary: NeilPryde is a premier provider of windsurfing sails, gear, and apparel, as well as yacht sails. The company has 2 main sail loft divisions, NeilPryde Yachtsails and NeilPryde Boardsails. NeilPryde Yachtsails provides high-quality sails for blue-water cruising, and NeilPryde Boardsails is a leader in the windsurfing world.
Founded in: 1970
History Highlights: Originally, NeilPryde focused on supplying sails to yacht manufacturers. However, poor yacht sales in the late 1970's coincided with the emergence of windsurfing as a sport, and NeilPryde began to focus on boardsails, a trend which lasted a decade. In the late 1980's, when windsurfing began to mature as a sport, the yacht sails division was relaunched with a focus on custom sail-making for individual sailors, which is still the case today.
Known For: Windsurfer sails, yacht sails.
We heard from Marc-Olivier "Marco" Leconte, Marketing Manager for NeilPryde Boardsails. Here's what Marco had to say:
On windsurfing, sailmaking, and plans for the future:
"Let's not hide it, windsurfing is going through difficult times. But there are still thousands of people still getting out on the water every day. Windsurfing has became a high-tech niche sport, where windsurfers will keep on looking for innovative products with the most advanced technology."
On what sets NeilPryde Boardsails apart:
"NeilPryde has been making windsurfing sails since the origin of the sport itself. For 40 years, we always made a point to bring to the market a premium offer, with the best-performing products available in the market. Our designs are unique and this essentially comes from the unique experience NeilPryde Windsurfing has built through all these years.
"If you're looking for high-performance products, then NeilPryde is the right choice. The technology and materials we are putting in our designs make our equipments perform like no other on the water. The best example is that at an amateur or pro level, our sails are recognized to be the fastest ones."
Proprietary Technology:
"2009 saw the inclusion of a major innovation directly influenced by the NeilPryde racing program, called the Dynamic Compact Clew.
"Totally unique to NeilPryde, the clew is positioned forward from the trailing edge, the profile behind the clew is now able to twist off when wind pressure increases. The sail automatically adjusts its shape and thus controls excessive power. In addition, it also create an 'S' profile on the batten, effectively pushing the deepest profile point forward, preventing it from moving back while overpowered.
"We also introduced in our 2010 collection a new range of laminate materials using Dyneema yarns as a rip-stop. By using Dyneema yarns we have managed to reduce weight of the sails and increase the breaking strength and UV resistance."
Key Take-Aways:
"Our goal is to keep improving our designs to keep our position as market leader. We will focus on innovation to deliver the premium products NeilPryde Boardsails has been known for many years."
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We also spoke with Bob Pattison, Technical Director for NeilPryde Yachtsails, who shared these thoughts with us:
On sailing, sailmaking, and plans for the future:
"I think what you're going to see in the industry as a whole is further consolidation, vertically, with companies that provide sailcloth, manufacturing, and client service. So that's one industry trend, consolidation of bits and pieces under one roof. ...
"In order to pay for all this high technology you need to be able to sell a lot of volume. Because as the volume increases, the price comes down, and that's good for customers. That gets it into the hands of more sailors, the customer starts seeing more and more of it in their local sailing scene, and then they start asking for it in their next sail or set of sails. It's a movement that we've seen in the past 5 to 10 years, and it's only going to grow in the foreseeable future, even among cruisers.
"That isn't to say that there's no market for Dacron any more. A woven Dacron sail, for all its limitations, still represents good value in terms of cost, durability, the ability to repair it yourself if need be. It's really the top racing market that's really shifting away from the panel sail technology.
"The industry as a whole is retrenching, and the big question that's looming has two components. (1) How fast is the marine industry going to come back from the worldwide recession we've been experiencing? And, (2) To what extent will it come back to the same level at all?
"The simple equation is, if you think of somebody that has a 40-foot racing/cruising sailboat, will that person say, 'You know, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with this boat. Do I really need a new boat?' Much like the auto industry relied on people replacing their cars every 3 - 4 years, even if they didn't need to.
"So if people are becoming more conscientious about the impact their choices are making on the environment, that has the potential to create a whole new paradigm. If we do enter a new paradigm, that really shapes the impact on the marine industry as a whole. The dynamic of the industry really changes."
On what sets NeilPryde Yachtsails apart:
"Our original goal was to centralize manufacturing from day one. This is a core part of our strength and affordability, because we don't have the overhead of having manufacturing all over the world. All the major sailmakers now are centralizing, trying to get things under one roof, or at least many fewer roofs."
Proprietary Technology:
"Well, certainly the industry as a whole has made a wholehearted shift to what we call string or membrane technology. Now we manufacture the fabric for every sail, custom. ... The technology allows you to better engineer the sail, since you can run the strings and the yarn types in specific locations. So as a result, in theory, you get a sail that's structurally more stable."
Key Take-Aways:
"I think that service is going to be king, because with the current technology, it's pretty easy to build a good sail. I don't mean that just anybody can do it, but that there are number of manufacturers who can do it. Sail-making is kind of a mature industry, as is the auto industry – so if you're a person with $25,000 and you want to buy a silver 4-door sedan, there are several manufacturers who can provide more or less what you need. And in the same way our industry has matured as well.
"So you have to set yourself apart from your competitors based on service, and that's what our goal is. Sailmaking, really, at its core level, is a service industry. We rely on professionals on the ground to meet with customers and understand their needs, be that racing or blue-water cruising, and that's still really important. We provide value with our service."
