The story behind Sail Service’s tall ship domination
With the release of a new highlight video of Aberdeen’s Tall Ships Race (see end), MIN visits the company responsible for many of the fleet’s sails to find out how it has gained its prominence, and how it plans to keep it.
Sail Service is based in Gdansk, Poland. From its loft, it’s exporting sails to OEMs, shipyards, private owners, racing vessels and more.
“We are capable of producing up to two and a half thousand square meters per week of sails,” says Pawel Roslen, sales manager (pictured).
“And most of our sails are exported. We have our agents or representatives in Germany, in France, in Sweden, in Scandinavia. So the Polish market is just a small part for the sails we produce.”
And, a whopping 40 per cent of its sails are destined to billow proudly on tall ships. Roslen ticks off the times he’s seen the company’s sails in Hollywood productions — like The Northman and Napoleon.
Recently Sail Service completed a project with Universal Pictures. That involved a replica Viking ship and 30 sails. Luckily the sails were required in the filming locations – Iceland and Sweden – which circumnavigated significant issues that anyone in transportation has been facing in the last eight months or so in getting items to the United States (like increases in container prices and containers being held for extended periods).
How Sail Service came to dominate tall ships
Sail Service’s history is closely tied to Conrad Shipyard. The company originated in the 1950s as a sailmaker for Conrad, producing sails for small wooden boats and sailing yachts. During the 1960s, it continued making sails for pleasure craft and sport sailing yachts that were primarily exported to USSR countries. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, it was producing sails for yachts ranging from 20 to 54 feet.
The end of the 1980s brought significant economic changes with the collapse of the USSR. A group of friends then formed Sail Service as it is known today, to continue producing sails for Conrad. (Images below courtesy of Sail Service’s website)
Strategic pivot after collapse of USSR
Facing challenges due to the halt of exports to former USSR countries, the company pivoted to tall ships and square riggers, which provided larger sail areas and steadier workflow throughout the year. A significant milestone was its cooperation with Zygmunt Choreń, described as the ‘father of tall ships’ in Poland, who designed vessels like Frederick Chopin and Iskra.
In the 1990s, as private yachting grew in Poland particularly in the Masurian Lakes, Sail Service expanded into supplying sails, masts, rigging, ropes, and deck equipment for smaller yachts. Its first major client was Tiga Yachts, a charter company with a fleet of 30 boats. This period also marked its entry into international markets, with Hanse Yachts being its first significant international client, despite logistical challenges before Poland joined the European Union.
Now the company employs around 45 people, making it the largest sailmaker in Poland, and has supplied sails for over 60 tall ships.
The business stands on three main pillars: sail production and covers (approximately 60 per cent of the business), deck equipment (it’s a dealer for Ronstan, Andersen, Sparcraft and more), and Flexiteek.
Its production facility features a 700 square metre table that is 30 metres long, allowing it to produce up to circa 2,500 square meters of sails per week. Most of the sails are exported through agents in Germany, France, Sweden, and Scandinavia.
Growth potential in sail transport
With prestigious projects to its name, including sails for the Golden Horizon (formerly Flying Clipper) with over 6,000 square meters of sails, and the Sea Cloud Spirit (which offers cruises – more details on its website), the company’s eyeing sail power transport for groups and passengers with interest. Roslen says he’s following the lead of French companies in this area.
There’s also opportunity for growth in rig design, and assembly for square riggers, as he believes companies in this niche are diminishing. Larger and superyachts are also on the radar, a sector which is booming despite economic challenges.
Craftsmanship rules Sail Services’ loft – but recruitment challenges persist
During the sail design process, specialised software is used to determine sail shape, depth, and other parameters. Each sail follows a production card that contains crucial information including grade, panel numbers, patterns, reinforcement details, technology specifications, dimensions, client information, and production number.
“We try to combine our old experience or traditional craft with the modern materials,” says Rosen. “Not many sail lofts still continue with this old craftsmanship of sailmaking, and even though there is no sailing school here or sailmaking school around here, we continue to train traditional sailmakers to keep this old tradition and heritage.”
The sailmaking process involves teams working in pairs – typically a sailmaker (who prepares the work by applying reinforcements and gluing panels together) and a sewer. Value is placed on long term collaboration.
“The way we make sails is we work in couples… the sailmaker is preparing the work… and usually the girls doing the sewing, because, we found out, they are more accurate than the boys.”
The production tracking system is essential for monitoring the status of each sail in the high-volume operation, allowing the company to keep clients informed about progress.
Expertise goes into every sail. “There is no sailmaker school around here… so every person that gets trained here in our company we look after. So they stay with us for as long as possible. For a good sailmaker, it takes about two years of training,” says Rosen.
The company is always on the lookout for new talent to recruit as it significant challenges. Younger generations show less interest in manual labour jobs and the ones that do come in often need to be trained from scratch.
While there have been two or three successful cases where interns from local schools have returned to work for the company: “Sometimes new recruits lack basic skills like using an electric drill.”
Automation versus traditional craftsmanship
Roslen notes that there are some opportunities for automation in the business, particularly for yacht sails and smaller cruising yacht production where better machines with pulling systems can help manage fabric under the needle. But most of the work remains under the beady eyes and skilled hands of traditional craftsmen and women.
“The office and sales processes could be improved,” he says, “but the physical sailmaking on the floor has limited automation potential. Even with newer technologies like membrane sails (which eliminate the need for section stitching), many processes such as applying reinforcements and finishing sail edges still need to be done by hand.”
In an unexpected tradeoff between using modern tools like laser cutters, and working with heavy-duty sailcloth, Roslen weighs the pros and cons of technology.
“The laser cutter does not do too well with heavy-duty sailcloth … it has tendency to burn out the edge. But what is quite good, is we don’t have the problem with the fraying later on.”
Seemingly, military training ships prefer traditional sails for educational purposes, allowing cadets to learn historical sailing techniques. Roslen says that this client segment has become increasingly important as governments increase military spending, with navies ordering replacement sails for cruising fleets and training vessels.
“Many traditional clients still prefer conventional finishes with leather and steel components, as weight considerations are less important for these applications than for racing sails,” he adds. That said, modern materials like Dyneema rope now replace steel.
Sail Service sources it cloth from suppliers including Germany’s Dimension-Polyant and Contender Sailcloth from the Netherlands (both are now owned by Belgium’s Sioen Industries). Cloth for sails is only a small part of these suppliers’ businesses, says Roslen, they generally focus on creating industrial textiles for automotive, firefighting, and military applications.
The sailmaking business isn’t partciulalry eco-friendly due to the heavy use of polyester materials. “Traditional materials like cotton or linen cloth wouldn’t be practical or desirable for customers.”
So Sail Service incorporates some recycled polyester materials into its sails, “though these materials are more expensive than standard polyesters, which often deters clients from choosing them.
“We cannot change the fundamental materials used, but there is some consolation in the fact that sails allow boats to operate without engines and typically last 5-15 years. And we responsibly dispose of used sails by sending them to special facilities.”
The magic of the Tall Ships Races Aberdeen has been captured on video thanks to Aberdeen City Council, Port of Aberdeen, and Aberdeen Inspired, the host partners behind last month’s event which took place 19-22 July. The organisers are now in talks with Sail Training International on options for bringing the Tall Ships back.
Marine Industry News was hosted by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) in Gdansk.
