The new venture, called Future Spars, is located in a new factory next to the Future Fibres rigging facility in Valencia, Spain.
Future Spars opened its doors for business in July, with the installation of a 50 m autoclave.
“At Future Fibres we have built a strong reputation for producing the lightest, strongest, most proven and reliable composite rigging in the market, and now we plan to bring that same scientific, evidence-based approach to the design and construction of masts for customers at the top end of the market,” explains Future Fibres founder Tom Hutchinson.
Future Fibres is going into the new venture with Italian mould specialist Persico, which has over 40 years of experience in moulds, composites and engineering for the aerospace, automotive and marine sectors.
“We wanted a technical partner who could also bring in new ideas from outside the marine industry, and Persico brings a wealth of experience from the automotive and aerospace world," says Future Fibres CEO, Ewan McLellan. “I think the marine industry can learn a lot from other sectors, and it’s that wider perspective that we’re looking to bring to Future Spars.”
In technical terms, Ewan says Persico’s experience with high-quality moulds will make it possible to design and build carbon masts that are more easily customised to an individual client’s specification. “This offers a huge benefit for both Future Fibres and our customers," McLellan explains. "Our cable business will continue to lead the composite rigging industry with significant investment in research and development, across the full spectrum of fibres, in search of optimum cable performance. However, as the technology matures, performance gains will increasingly come from closer integration between mast and rigging and both sets of designers working side by side, with a common goal, is a very exciting prospect.”
