Cup turns Phonak colleagues into rivals

By SIMON HENDERY

Dr Bill Keith and Evert Dijkstra may work for the same global company, but for the duration of the America's Cup they have become fierce competitors.

Keith is managing director of Phonak New Zealand, the Takapuna company which developed the innovative waterproof earpieces used by Team New Zealand sailors during the last America's Cup campaign.

Dijkstra is the director of business development for Switzerland's Phonak Communications another member of the international Phonak group and a sponsor of Alinghi.

Phonak Communications has been working hard to provide the Swiss challenge with an on-board communications system to match Team New Zealand's.

After the interest in Team New Zealand's earpieces during the last regatta, Keith said he had "politely declined" to supply the technology to several other syndicates.

Given the cup rivalry, Keith decided that sharing technical secrets with Dijkstra's business was not appropriate a decision accepted by parent company Phonak Group, one of the world's largest hearing aid companies.

Keith expects all the challenger syndicates will have some form of on-board communication system during this Louis Vuitton series.

But Team New Zealand should be able to maintain an advantage Phonak NZ has refined its system after learning more about the team's requirements from the last regatta.

"We've taken it a lot further and they [Team New Zealand] are very happy with it," Keith said.

Dijkstra said his company, which employs about 100 technical staff, had two engineers devoted to developing Alinghi's system.

It differs from the Team NZ technology in that the hearing device is placed behind rather than in the ear.

Both men said their respective yachting sponsorships had provided worthwhile brand exposure and publicity, and produced research which their companies might use in future.

Keith said Phonak NZ had invested about $100,000 in research, development and equipment for Team New Zealand.

Regardless of the exposure "we'd do it anyway to support the cause".

Dijkstra said the Alinghi investment was worth more than that.

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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