North Sails

Summary: North Sails is the world leader among sail lofts. Almost every major sailing race of the past decade has been outfitted predominantly with North Sails, which holds 90+% of the market in Grand Prix racing. North Sails is known for its technical innovations, particularly its state-of-the-art 3DL technology. North began manufacturing 3DL sails in 1992, and has continued to refine the process since then.

Founded in: 1957

History Highlights: Founded by Lowell North, an Olympic medalist in sailing during the 1960's. Current CEO of North Marine, Tom Whidden, is himself a renowned racing tactician.

Number of locations worldwide: Well over 100 service, sales, and satellite lofts; in 29 countries

Known For: Technical firsts; market leader.

Tech Note: Current state-of-the-art technology, known as 3DL. Uses a 3D mold the shape and size of the entire sail. Results in a laminated sail which has the preferred performance shape molded in, rather than being constructed of numerous flat pieces sewn together.
North's next tech innovation, 3DI, is in beta testing right now.

We spoke with Gary Wiseman, President of North Sails (the sailmaking division of North Marine) and 35-year industry veteran, to get his outlook on the near-term future for sailing and the sailmaking industry. We also asked him to elaborate on the factors that drive North's leadership in the industry. Here's what he had to say:

On sailing, sailmaking, and plans for the future:

"We're pleasantly surprised how 2009 has ended up. We had a strong 2008 even though the world kind of crumbled around our ears in the 4th quarter. We don't see things coming to a complete halt due to the [economic] downturn; but that being said, the 1st Quarter of '09 was the worst I've ever seen, and I've been in the business 35 years. We had to make some difficult decisions and close some lofts, but that made us leaner and positioned us to succeed; since March, things have been going well.

"We're forecasting for '10 to be not a lot better than '09, but things should improve in about 2 or 3 years or so. We think that in '11, with the America's Cup being back in the kind of structure that everyone's used to, that should help us a lot.

"The side of the business that kind of concerns me, that I worry about, is going to big events like Key West and so on, seeing the participation numbers going down a bit. ... Everyone wants to see new people coming in [to the sport]. And so that is an area of some concern."

On what sets North apart:

"We are a product-driven company that has focused almost entirely on improving our products. It was [founder] Lowell North's focus when he was in charge of the company. Jerry Kohler is the current majority owner of the company, and he also has the same focus.

"We try to be everything to everybody, and we have a complete product range. ... Whether you're sailing a foiling Moth or a kite, or an America's Cup trimaran, and Superyachts as well. We have things from small Dacron sails to the opposite extreme. In some products we may be the most expensive item in the marketplace, and in other things we are more price-competitive.

"We're not set up quite like the other multi-loft systems. With North Sails, all of our lofts report to me, they are literally my employees. So our corporate entity is quite a bit bigger than some of the others. And this helps us maintain consistency, worldwide."

Proprietary Technology:

"Our technology, 3DL, is the only one that is done the way we do it. It's capital-intensive and in some ways cumbersome, but in our view results in the best product. We use a 3-D mold that reproduces the entire shape of the sail. Other sail-makers are making sails that look quite similar but they're making them on flat production floor.

"On top of that, we're right in the process of announcing a new product that is different from that, and even a step beyond. That's 3DI, which is a whole other level of technology and a completely different-looking product. We haven't actively marketed it yet; it's still in the beta-testing stage.

"One of the issues might be longevity, because it simply hasn't been around long enough to tell how it's going to stand up over time. So we don't want to really push it in the marketplace until we are confident that it will do everything that we think it will do."

Key Takeaways:

"The thing I'd like people to take away about North Sails is this: Sometimes you have a hard time getting a guy who is racing his 28-footer to think that North Sails will care about him as well. And yet, at the high-level management meetings, we spend a huge amount of time talking about that customer. We see that customer as providing ample room to grow. ... We feel we can continue to make customers happy no matter what kind of sailors they are."