The amazing relationship between two of Australia’s most recognised sailing institutions now dates to over half a century.  Sailboat hardware company Ronstan are proudly Australian and have a long history of supporting the Australian Sailing Team (AST) and its athletes.  The company grew from humble beginnings in boating building; the now international company is owned by twelve of the people who run it.

Ronstan believes they owe much of their success to their close ties with sailing’s elite athletes and teams.  “There are two key benefits to sponsoring the AST: the promotional value and the technical value,” says Peter Dowdney, Australasian Sales Manager and member of Ronstan’s ownership group.  “As a business that is creating at the cutting edge of sailing, the best testing we can do is put our product in the hands of top athletes in the field.  Having them critique and report on the products gives us an incredible head start in creating the next generation of product for sailing.”

“The AST are trained to be very clinical and detailed, not just of their own performance, but of their equipment.  The feedback we get is really good quality.  If we can make these guys happy, every other sailor will be happy with it.”

Ronstan’s ties to Olympic sailing predate the formation of the AST in 2006.  “I can’t remember a time when we weren’t involved with the Australian Olympic sailing team,” says Dowdney.  “Back in those days it was done individually when sailors had to go out and find their own sponsorship.  We are talking about the Michael Blackburns and Darren Bundocks of the world.  Obviously as the sport became more professional they became a more organised and tightly controlled team.  We became an overarching sponsor of a team rather than individuals.”

“In recent years the best thing about being involved with the AST has been being a part of such a successful unit; to be a part of the team that made it a success including coaches, admin and support staff.  From our standpoint as a sponsor, if you are putting money into something you are investing and expecting a return from it.  You can’t hope for more than Olympic success.”

The challenge of producing high-end, innovative hardware to satisfy the extreme demands of racing conditions has led to many of the technical breakthroughs that have put Ronstan at the top end of the market.

“It’s been one positive experience after another.  The people that have driven that success have all been fantastic people.  From a personal perspective we all cherish the relationships that have developed.  The perks of the job are working with people you respect and look up to.  I get to talk and interact with these people and I feel privileged to be in that role.”

Ronstan was founded in 1953 when Ron Allatt and Stan Lenepveu opened a wooden boatbuilding and stainless steel parts manufacturing facility in the Melbourne suburb of Highett.  As their business grew, they began exporting and continued to expand their facilities.  The first major milestone came twenty years later when Ron and Stan moved their workshop to Bay Road Sandringham.

“That was the beginning of modern era Ronstan.  At that point we went through a succession of different owners over a period of two decades.”  The company expanded dramatically in Australia and overseas during this time and survived a parent company’s receivership.  Alistair Murray AM, former Managing Director and current Chairman of Ronstan, as well as Vice President of Australian Sailing, moved over to the United States to establish their global distribution networks.

In 1999 a management buyout was brokered by Murray and Lou Sander, Ronstan’s European Director, with a handful of employees.  “I feel that started one of the most successful periods of the company.  The management buyout put the business fair and square in the hands of the people of who were passionate about it.  Our own futures were tied to its success.  It was a seamless process as we were all on the same page.  It was extraordinary to be a part of that.”
From 2000 onwards the new owners expanded the business organically through acquisitions such as Anderson Winches and Frederiksen Boat Fittings.  “We became very focused on sailing and through that our offshoot market of architecture developed.  We are good at sailing and this is what we do.”

With sailing at the company’s heart, Ronstan supports sailing from the grass roots up including clubs, classes and associations.  “We continue to actively participate in the promotion of sailing, both for pleasure and competition, and many of our staff are active sailors themselves. Speak to any one of our management team, who jointly own the company, and you’ll realise that we seriously love what we’re doing.”

Today Ronstan is one of the top three sailboat hardware brands in the world.  It is instantly recognised and respected in 45 countries.  “Our passionate team has worked tirelessly to develop export markets, establishing manufacturing facilities in Denmark and Indonesia and sales offices and distribution facilities in the United States, all the while building strong relationships with our distribution partners around the world.”

“It would be remiss not to recognise the changing of the guard,” Dowdney said referring to Murray’s recent retirement as CEO.  “Alistair was such a big part of that for 40 years.  It is still an Australian company yet we have an American CEO in our Newport office.  As the world has changed Ronstan has changed with it.  We have been nimble and will continue to do that.”

“At this time we love that we have such strong support in Australia and New Zealand and other markets around the world.  From a purely local standpoint Ronstan is an Australian company though we manufacture in several markets”

When discussing the sailing industry in 2020 we asked Dowdney what people could do to support them at this time.  “It’s a two-fold approach.  As much as we want support, we need to create the product the market needs.  If we don’t appeal to the sailors and what they want it would be unfair to expect them the support Australian unless it is at a world leading level.”

“We’ve been around 50 years and we want to be around for another 50.  All our innovation and drive comes from Australia including our design, development and administration.  The profits all come back to Australia.  I believe we have stuck very true to our roots.”