Southern Spars have been building some of the best masts in the world for more than a quarter of a century, and for their first few challenges outside the realms of masts and rigging they haven\u2019t lowered their sights even a fraction.<\/p>\n
Equipped with some of the best minds and hands in the world of composites, in mid-2016 the company set out to flex their design and manufacturing muscle outside the world of carbon spars. The first challenge they took on was revolutionising track cycling wheels for the New Zealand Olympic Track Cycling Team. Southern\u2019s R&D and production teams produced a set of 32 wheels, which helped the NZ team set the fastest opening lap of a velodrome ever recorded at sea level and take home a silver at Rio.<\/p>\n
Even before the wheels had been delivered the second challenge appeared on the horizon. Southern Spars\u2019 co-founder and head of sales, Mark Hauser, got a call from Kevin Shoebridge, Emirates Team New Zealand\u2019s COO. The contract for building Emirates Team New Zealand\u2019s yacht for the 35th America\u2019s Cup was up for grabs.<\/p>\n
\u2018I absolutely knew we could do the job,\u2019 says Hauser. \u2018We are perfectly set up, we\u2019ve got one of the best carbon fibre manufacturing plants in the world, and some of the best guys to do the job.<\/p>\n