A new sail loft in Lorient
The Incidence Sails group has announced the opening of a new sail loft in Lorient, alongside the creation of a center dedicated to sails for ocean racing boats. With a surface area of 400 m², the new buildings are due to open at the entrance to the Lorient-La Base site by the end of 2019. They will house a service floor, offices and meeting rooms.
An offshore racing center will be set up, with Philippe Touët as coordinator, supported by two designers (Maxime Paul and Ronan Floch), two sales people (César Dohy and Thierry Monge) and two engineers (Pierre-Antoine Morvan and Thibault Martin, from Incidence Technologies). At least 2 people will be on site at all times.
Capitalizing on the Route du Rhum
For Eric Ohlmann, Managing Director of Incidence Sails, the timing was right to invest in Lorient. "Our aim is to be as close as possible to the ocean racing teams. Now is the time to take advantage of the Route du Rhum's spotlight on our technical solutions, with victory in 3 out of 6 classes. We're making a significant and lasting return to Lorient, where we've had an office and small premises for the past two years. We're going to gain in speed and responsiveness with a floor where we can service, touch-up and analyze sails."
4 sailmaking centres according to boat type
The investment in Lorient is part of Incidence Sails' ongoing reorganization. The sailmaker has just created 4 divisions linked to customers and boat types:
- The ocean racing and superyacht division
- The yachting hub
- The Classical division
- Construction site
Each cluster will work cross-functionally, drawing on the skills of employees at various Incidences sites, from Brest to Toulon, via La Rochelle. "The idea is to have skill clusters by major families. The ocean racing and superyacht division provides the people and simulation resources needed to meet the demanding requirements of big boats with large project teams. The yachting division is responsible for IRC yachts and the Transquadra, for example, with two people based in La Rochelle, as well as a specialist in the Mediterranean. The aim is to be able to work together on projects," concludes Eric Ohlmann.