NORTH SAILS IS OPEN IN LORIENT

Our French Team Welcomes Friends to New Loft in Lorient La Base

On Wednesday evening, Gautier Sergent, Director of North Sails France, and Phillip Touet, General Manager of North Sails France, joined the local North team in welcoming guests to our new facility in Lorient La Base. Nearly 150 people, including many well-known names from the French sailing community, celebrated the opening of this new sales and service site, right in the heart of offshore racing. Among the guests were team members from Charal, Gitana, PRB and Sodebo. Also present was Victor Tonnerre, mayor of Larmor-Plage and founder of Tonnerre Voilerie. The new North loft now occupies the same location where Tonnerre built his business.

The loft features a new 500m² service floor purpose-built to meet the needs of sailing teams. It also has office space and a 50m² meeting room to house technical experts, sail designers, and industry-leading R&D specialists.

Our long-standing Vannes loft will remain the French production site for North Sails, as well as continuing to provide regional customer service. Thibaut Agaugue will be in charge of service in both locations.

Gautier Sergent, Director of North Sails France and Head of R&D

We have been looking to have a base at La Base in Lorient for a few years now. We wanted to do it right and had a few boxes to tick. Our new loft is ideal and will be a fantastic tool to bring us closer to our customers and partners, and encourages even better collaboration.

We had a great turnout at our opening. When standing in front of the guests to say a few welcome words, I realized how much talent and potential there was in the room; all very key people in the sailing scene far beyond this “Sailing Valley” known for its innovation.

What a great relationship we have with all these people; our customers, our own team, our partners, local representatives, many who I call friends. Going beyond is a motto we stand by at North Sails, and this loft is yet another great tool at our fingertips.

Franck Cammas, Skipper, Edmond de Rothschild

“The arrival of North Sails France in Lorient La Base is significant for our team, especially quick access to the design office with whom we spend a lot of time exchanging ideas. Even if our mainsails cannot be modified here, we will still be able to use the local service for minor modifications and smaller sails.”

Victor Tonnerre, Mayor of Larmor-Plage and Founder of the Sailmaker Tonnerre Voilerie

“It’s an honour for us to welcome international sailmaker North Sails to Lorient. My friends, many of whom are present tonight, must be proud. I used to run my company in this same location. Tonnerre means thunder, and I know that today with North Sails, it is going to hit like thunder!

Yann Penfornis, Managing Director, Multiplast

“The North Sails presence in Lorient makes perfect sense. The loft location provides an opportunity for the North team to work more closely with its customers.”