Welcome to the latest Marine Matters from Gallagher. This month we talk to Sam Sainsbury, General Manager at Rigging Projects Ltd about rapid growth at the cutting edge of performance rigging and exporting expertise to the global yachting community

Tell us a little about the history of the business and its founder

Rigging Projects was formed 10 years ago and founded by Director, Tobias Hochreutner. Tobias had previously worked as Technical Sales Manager at one of the largest pioneering rigging manufacturers before setting out with the aim to create an independent and unbiased rigging business in 2013. Tobias is involved with leading race teams, from the America’s Cup to the Maxi circuit, as well as sailing on superyachts and singlehanded racing. Tobias is vastly experienced on both sides of the sales and purchasing transaction, both as the buyer and seller. He is now joined by 2 other partners, Nick Black and Scott Gray who bring great depth and expertise to the business.

Our worldwide services include: Mast & Rigging specialists, Textile running Rigging Solutions, RP Hardware solutions, Custom Design services, Consultancy and Project Management.

The business was born out of the need for independent rigging product information to allow the end client to make an informed decision without the influence of pre-existing alliances to a particular supplier. Fast forward to the present and this ethos is still at the core of the team of 29 skilled staff at Rigging Projects. We have impeccable working relationships with all major mast, rigging and deck hardware suppliers and we pride ourselves on being an independent rigging and machining company, offering a turnkey solution from project launch through to completion.

We also have multiple patents for yachting and sailing solutions.

What do you deliver?

We strive to deliver to our clients the complete package which is reflected in our multifaceted service offering. What sets us apart is that we have the skill and innovation to provide every aspect of a project; From the conceptual, all the way the way through to completion. Regardless of engineering, design or sourcing challenges that are likely to arise, Rigging Projects’ diverse workforce can meet all requirements without the need to outsource. We have the ability and key skill components to keep projects ‘under one roof’, driven by a dedicated project manager.  This contributes to our success in being able to deliver on time and within budget. We have unrivalled experience in composite rigging, spars, design and system implementation. We work with some top racing teams, including Highland Fling (new 80ft Gunboat) Svea (143 ft J class) Zemi (new 110ft Baltic Yacht).

Tell us about your new premises, staff and recent business growth

Rigging Projects HQ is located in Totton, Hampshire, but we also have strategic satellite locations in The Netherlands, Spain and Newport, RI, USA – we’re never far away. Like our clients, our presence is truly global, servicing and supplying yachts on both sides of the Atlantic and Asia.

It’s been interesting to see how quickly the business has grown.  We moved from our previous Hamble 2,500 sq offices in January 2023 and are now enjoying our new 10,500 sq offices in Brunel Road, Totton, Hampshire. Growth has been exceptional in a very short period of time. 2 years ago we had just 8 staff, now we’re a team of 29.

It’s been hard work but the business has grown very naturally from the outstanding products that it produces and its ever-growing reputation across the world.  We purchased another business, Seadub, last year. They’d previously manufactured 95% of all of our titanium and aluminium parts.  It made sense to purchase them.  That’s when I was asked to join the business, in September 2022. I have a background in manufacturing and rigging manufacturing and specialise in developing teams and processes, upping turnover and throughput through lean processes.

We’re really happy with our modern, purpose-built new premises and facilities which we’ve invested in. The recent expansion is allowing us to grow our capacity with new machinery and increased efficiencies and as a result it is enabling us to attract quality staff and further increase our reputation.

We’ve also invested heavily in our people, adding key skills to the team.  We’ve had a big recruitment drive, keen to get more local people into the team.  Our designers and machining guys are all local.  Creating local employment is important to us as a business and we’re now finding that new employees are pro-actively approaching us which is hugely positive.  We’re able to recruit from a high-quality talent pool.  Our team is friendly, young and approachable and everyone says it’s a great place to work. The talent within our team is unbelievable and something that we’re extremely proud of.

Lewis Royal

I’d like to quote a fairly recent recruit to the business, Machinist Lewis Royal who said, “I think that the quality of work within the company is outstanding. I have seen a lot of different work as I have experience in the commercial, military and aerospace sectors and here at Rigging projects the actual technical quality of the work is on par with aerospace and the visual quality is second to none. The management are forward thinking and push a learning culture to benefit the company and the employees. We are lucky to work in a purpose-built factory which is more akin to a laboratory than a grubby workshop.” I think that’s a great reflection on the business.

What are the plans for the future?

We are excited about the future as the business continues to develop and grow.  We’ve been approached by some companies in the motorsport industry, due to our high quality and precision machining, so future plans involve moving in that direction.  In order to make that move into the automotive sector we are working on our ISO9001 certification.

• https://www.riggingprojects.com/