Karver Systems acquires Pontos Winches and announces new product line

French firm Karver Systems has finalised a deal for Pontos Winches and confirmed a new product line set to launch before the end of 2018.

Fellow Gallic company Pontos, launched in 2009 in St. Malo, was initially acquired by Karver in February 2018. Both companies provide sailing hardware solutions focusing on performance and innovation, and since Karver had always intended to develop a line of winches, the acquisition of Pontos has been a natural progression.

In a statement, Karver Systems CEO Marin Clausin commented, “The work done by the two creators of Pontos, Michel Chenon and Darryl Spurling, and their team is simply incredible. The players of the nautical world have not yet become fully aware of the revolution that this range of winches represents. They are already attracting fans amongst both regatta and pleasure boaters. The work of reliability and performance improvement that we are bringing to the range, will make this winch simply unavoidable.”

Chenon, president of Pontos, added, “With the acquisition of Pontos, Karver becomes the first French equipment manufacturer whose range includes winches. Karver’s broad and qualitative offer reinforces its consistency in both the racing and cruising segments. The culture of the two companies with strong innovation bases is reinforced by this acquisition and is a great promise for the future. Innovation is at the heart of the concept for the greatest satisfaction of our sailors.”

Pontos creates patent-protected epicyclic gear trains associated with automatic load detection technology, and – depending on the model – can offer up to three times the power and six times the speed compared to similar products on the market.

Karver’s new range of winches, utilising the recently acquired technology, is due to be presented at the Mets trade fair in Amsterdam in November. A number of Pontos-branded winches remain on sale, with Karver’s new line of winches set to be made available for sale before 2018’s end.

For more information, visit Karver Systems.