On October 1, 2017, you will take over the management of North Sails' R&D center in Vannes. Can you tell us about the path that led you to this responsibility?
Gautier Sergent : After my engineering studies in France, I went to New Zealand in 1999 to do an internship at North Sails. At the dawn of the 2000 America's Cup, the teams were very busy and I was able to bring some useful help, which put me in the right frame of mind. I was hired at the sailmaker's while doing a Masters at the University of Auckland in the Yacht Research Unit. I then worked on CFD software development and then moved on to design.
In 2010, I returned to France to work on the Groupama project for the Volvo Ocean Race. On this occasion, I met many sailors of the crew who also had their own teams, like Thomas Coville. We established a good relationship and I stayed in France to work on the IMOCA and Ultimates projects.
In 2014, I took over the management of the North Sails group 3D factories in Minden, USA and Sri-Lanka. Arrived at the end of the 3 years that we had set as a minimum in this position, we saw with the management that my profile and my expectations corresponded to the new R&D development project within the group. On October 1, 2017, I will therefore take over the management of the new R&D division.
How did the R&D work at North Sails until now and why are you creating this R&D department?
GS: Of course, R&D existed before the cluster. It is even part of the characteristics of North Sails, but until now it was exploded in all the entities of the group. It was never the main project of the person in charge, which could slow down the process. Also, it was not always thought out for all markets and information was scattered.
From now on, I will be in charge of structuring and coordinating North Sails' R&D efforts worldwide. Thanks to the R&D department, we will be able to rationalize and make the research efforts as efficient as possible. As a first step, I would like to establish an inventory of North Sails' R&D projects and history. From there, we will be able to establish a 5-year plan of attack and estimate the needs in terms of personnel and budget. The long-term objective is to hire 3 to 4 people.
What are the main areas of R&D that you are considering?
GS: Even if the subjects will be refined with the state of the art mentioned, several research themes are already envisaged. There will obviously be development of CFD software. We will also work on simplifying and integrating as much as possible, or even making the finishing touches to the sails disappear, such as the straps. We will also think about the integration of the mast and sail assembly, probably with Southern Spars, which is part of the same group as North Sails. Electronics and data acquisition are also a major challenge to better understand the dynamic behavior of the sails and take it into account in the physical test protocols and laboratory simulation of the sails.
We will also assist in product development, to enable the 3Di to cover all types of sailing. With the Nordac 3Di, we have taken a step forward by using dacron. We will work to see the possibilities to marry polyester fibers with aramid, dyneema or carbon, to get the best characteristics of each.
Why did North Sails choose France as the location for its R&D center?
GS: The French market is one of the least frightened. The projects that can be found between Lorient, Port-La-Forêt and La Trinité are exciting and the French are not afraid to invest in technology.
On the other hand, with the research tax credit, it is possible to reduce the cost of personnel to the level of other countries. Among the new hires in the R&D division, there will surely be a person in charge of managing partnerships with universities, companies and thesis grants.
