Southern Spars rigged up to win

By ROBIN BAILEY

In the world of international yachting, Southern Spars is in a league of its own. Its custom-designed and -built spars grace some of the world's best-known superyachts and power high-performance racing yachts.

Which is somewhat remarkable when you consider Southern Spars is based in Auckland and almost all its output is exported and the products they make are long, unwieldy and expensive to move around the world.

Yet to the sailing world, Southern Spars is akin to what Ferrari is to F1 motor racing and top-of-the-line streets cars.

The brand has many values - technology, ground-breaking design, quality construction, performance and service. There's also a large measure of the Kiwi "can do" attitude that owners and designers find so refreshing.

Secrecy is another value that is imperative for a company that built spars for eight out of 10 syndicates in the last America's Cup and seven of the eight competitors in the Volvo Ocean Race. Tight design and manufacturing-management procedures ensure clients' design secrets stay secret.

For the past 10 years, the company has grown with the New Zealand marine industry. While helping to add to the reputation of our growing superyacht building and service industry, Southern Spars has also built an unsurpassed profile with racing yachtsmen.

Involvement with the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race has also been important. Director Mark Hauser says New Zealand yachtsmen like the late Sir Peter Blake and Grant Dalton promoted Southern Spars internationally.

Billionaire Larry Ellison, backer of the Oracle BMW challenger in the Louis Vuitton Cup, has a Southern Spars rig in his successful racing maxi Sayonara. Ellison even offers an endorsement, saying "Southern Spars designs and builds the highest performance rigs in the world".

In many ways Southern Spars' international achievements are a textbook New Zealand manufacturing export success story - target a niche market and do it better than anyone else. Southern Spars has grown and prospered for several reasons: the expertise and dedication of the company's founders, their willingness to take risks, the wholehearted embrace of technology and design, understanding their markets and establishing long-lasting international relationships.

The company employs 160 people, 20 spar and rig designers and close to 120 in manufacturing. Riggers, service and administration make up the rest.

Southern Spars has taken over and absorbed an American competitor, Omohundro. Equipment is being moved to New Zealand from a factory in the Nevada desert, and up to 60 more Auckland jobs could be created in the next few months.

The company has opened a spar and rig service centre in the Mediterranean where many Southern Spars customers cruise in summer. The centre, at the southern French port of La Ciotat, is growing in reputation and capability as the superyacht centre of Europe.

Now working from three separate buildings just off Syndicate Row at the Viaduct Harbour, directors plan to establish by the middle of next year a purpose-built laminating factory away from the waterfront. Finishing and painting will stay at the Viaduct.

Plans are afoot to mirror the La Ciotat service centre on the east coast of the United States.

North Marine Group, owner of the world's largest sailmaker, North Sails, is now a major shareholder, giving the two companies between them a iron grip on the performance racing and cruising yacht "engine above the deck".

Southern Spars' directors and designers are welcome around the world, respected as sailors and innovative spar makers. They sail in many top international regattas and have customer networking down to a fine art.

They also spread the word at international boat shows where it's not uncommon to have 40 meetings in four days. It pays off.

General manager Lou Cadman says there are few projects in the target markets that they are not aware of.

"We are often asked to price a project in which there are no competing quotes being sought."

R&D has always been a feature of the Southern Spars operations. Owners and designers turn to Southern Spars for innovative solutions to individual requirements. One example: finding a way to get stays and boom out of the way when the helicopter lands on the stern of a sailing megayacht.

Director Steve Wilson heads the 20-strong design team that leads the world in carbon fibre spar and rigging developments. They continue a tradition of innovation which started soon after the company was formed in the late 80s when the founders built alloy spars during the day and then worked at night on carbon fibre.

Even then they were at the leading edge of technology, and designed and built their own autoclave which cures the carbon spars. Wilson says: "The future is with carbon spars and rigging. Costs are coming down and the day is not all that far off when Auckland racing and cruising yachts have carbon spars."

The company's new purpose-built factory will set new standard in manufacturing hygiene and efficiency, raising the bar even higher for competitors.