Neil Pryde Sails International is the Sales and Design Office for Neil Pryde Yachtsails. Here we handle all sales administration, marketing and design for our global network of Agents. In this capacity we continue to work at expanding our world-wide network of Custom Sail agents as well as developing new Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) accounts. We provide full technical support for our Agents and OEM accounts on "Special R & D Projects" as well as on a day to day basis. In addition, we also handle sales for the local Long Island Sound sailing community.
You can reach us at:
1681 Barnum Avenue, Stratford, CT 06614
Tele: (1) 203-375-2626
E-mail at: [email protected]
The office is directed by Tim Yourieff, the Yachtsail President, who handles our OEM accounts from around the world, and general management of the Neil Pryde agents network. Tim has been with the Pryde organization for 45 years and has been actively sailing in International Offshore and One Design events for 30 years. His marine industry background is robust and he's right at home helming this division.
Bob Pattison heads up Design and Special Projects. This includes the day to day design of sails and all technical matters pertaining to the Neil Pryde Sails. On the marketing side, he overseas and monitors the Neil Pryde Sails web site as well as production of ad copy, technical manuals, sales tools and other graphic related items. Bob has been sailmaking and racing for 25 years and in his free time continues to actively race here in Long Island.
Corporate History
Neil Pryde Limited started in 1970 as a large scale manufacturer of sails for the boat building industry.
This company was built on our OEM business and in the early 1970's Neil Pryde was undoubtedly one of the largest supplier of sails to boat builders with major accounts including Albin, O'Day, Beneteau, Hobie Cat, Jeanneau and others.
In the mid 70's, the boat building industry took a disastrous dive and we were fortunate in that at that time windsurfing took off. As a major supplier of sails, it was natural that the important manufacturers of boards looked to Hong Kong and to Neil Pryde for their sail requirements. From 1977 until 1988, the boardsailing business carried the company through both its high points and low points.
It was inevitable that in that situation, management should focus on the boardsailing business and unfortunately this to a certain extent led to a neglect of our yachting business. While the business had not dramatically decreased, it had certainly not grown and our customer base shrank as boat builders went of business or reduced the number of boats that they build.
By the latter part of the 1980's, we saw that the boardsailing business had matured and the need for diversification had become apparent.
This was achieved in two ways. First, to take a long hard look at expanding the Yachtsail business, which formed the very foundation Neil Pryde. And secondly, to look at three new lines of business.
In late 1987, we took the decision to re-launch our yachting business in a new direction bringing in new people with new ideas in order create a market position for Neil Pryde Yachtsails. The boat building industry was no longer a basis on which to develop this business and it became clear that we had to develop the capability to supply custom sails to individual yachtsmen around the world.
This represented a complete change in direction not only in marketing but also in manufacturing.
From a mass producer of sails for boat builders we became a custom maker of sails for the individual yachtsman. Obviously this change in direction required a completely different approach to sales and manufacturing. Custom sail making is a service oriented business where close communication with end user is critical. Neil Pryde took the view that centralized efficient manufacturing, employing to maximum effect the productivity and excellent skills of the Chinese work force was the direction we should take.
We therefore developed a business plan based on centralized manufacturing with distribution through strategically located selling offices close to the customer in the important sailing centers worldwide. These agents would all be experienced local sailmakers or yachtsmen and women who could give their customers the local service they need, but backed up by a design and production facility that enable them to call the latest design technology and materials.
Today we acknowledge our 51st anniversary in the Marine business and as we do, we are continuing to expand our agents network worldwide and intend to stay at the front of the fleet with our quality and performance.