New breath for Hall Spars
North Technology Group (NTG) has acquired Hall Spars. As mentioned in these columns, the spars manufacturing company, founded by Eric Hall in Rhode Island in 1980, met with financial difficulties . After negotiations with a partner failed at the end of 2016, Hall Spars USA announced that its production site would close, leaving Auckland in New Zealand and Breskens in the Netherlands alone.
Following the acquisition, NTG announced that Hall Spars would continue operations in Auckland and Breskens and that local and international customer service would resume in Rhode Island. Richard Lott, director of NTG, recalls the good image of the brand. "Hall Spars has long been respected in the mast business and the financial challenges the company faced earlier in the year were very sad, but reflect how difficult the market has become. Our commitment is to secure the design history up to today, for the benefit of Hall Spars' past, present and future customers around the world. We will retain key personnel and much of the production capacity."
NTG increases its weight in the rigging market
The arrival of Hall Spars is a welcome addition to NTG's mast division, which already includes Southern Spars. Brands should retain their independence. It also complements Future Fibres, one of the leading suppliers of rigging components.
"It is perfectly suited for NTG and should be good for all parties," rejoices Richard Lott.
Sam Watson, head of NTG's mast department, underlines the technological interest of the takeover. "This expands our target, with the addition of mast construction technology on male mandrel. This complements Southern Spars' traditional approach with female mussels and allows us to serve the needs of all customers."
