Gaastra becomes Official Supplier to the Mean Machine Team
April 25, 2008 by Mean Machine Sailing Team | 0 comments
Mean Machine will be boasting a positively deluxe official supplier for the 2008 season. Dutch brand Gaastra will develop and supply Peter de Ridder’s team with a specially designed line of Gaastra PRO clothing for racing and Gaastra sportswear for when they’re back on shore.
The nautical clothing brand Gaastra and the Mean Machine join forces for the upcoming TP 52 2008 season
Mean Machine will be boasting a positively deluxe official supplier for the 2008 season. Dutch brand Gaastra will develop and supply Peter de Ridder’s team with a specially designed line of Gaastra PRO clothing for racing and Gaastra sportswear for when they’re back on shore.
Gaastra and the Mean Machine team share common values, such as the inheritance of a strong history and identity, which has lead to the Dutch company’s decision for Mean Machine to become part of the brand’s image.
The collaboration between Gaastra and the international Mean Machine Team has been very close. A design team from Gaastra has been working intensively with Mean Machine TP 52 team to develop an exclusive line of clothing which the crew will wear as they battle for victory in the Audi MedCup Circuit.
This season Mean Machine will be kitted out in an innovative selection of technical garments, with breathable fabrics and a cut ideal for maximum movement when sailing. The fabrics will be light, but warm, and they will, of course, be produced in the famous colours of the Mean Machine team; the team that raised the prestigious MedCup trophy in 2006.
Both the Head of the Mean Machine team, Peter de Ridder, and Gaastra’s Commercial Director, Marc Kooiman are pleased with the new relationship, as Kooiman comments “the Mean Machine yachts are always leading the fleets. In whatever class they start in, you will see them finishing at the top. This combined with their professional attitude and enjoyment of racing is why we want to be aboard the Mean Machine. Gaastra can benefit from the enormous experience of the crew and make sure that we can provide them with the most functional and innovative clothing a nautical clothing brand has ever made.”
Peter de Ridder is also positive about this collaboration with the Dutch clothing brand: “From way back in the 1980’s Mean Machine, with roots in Holland, has always looked for international competition. With Gaastra, a dynamic and innovative supplier of nautical clothing actively competing in markets such as Holland, Germany and France we’ve found our natural partner. Sharing the philosophy that facing the competition adds to performance made it easy for both of us to step into this partnership.”
The parallels between Gaastra and Mean Machine are evident; both are references in the sailing world, and both have had long and successful careers, continually at the forefront of their markets.
Rikkert Graat, Marketing Manager, echoed this: “Our goal is to gain awareness and understanding in the world of yacht racing. The TP 52’s are the hottest class at the moment and we want to be involved with the best team in this class. That’s why we are proud of joining forces with Peter de Ridder’s Mean Machine team. It enables us to make big steps in the development of active sailing wear and lightweight foul weather gear. As they are a winning team, the media pays a lot of attention to the team, of which our brand will benefit as well!”
The history of Gaastra dates back to 1897 when Douwe Gaastra started a sail-making business in the small Dutch town of Sneek. His goal was to make sailing faster, more competitive and more efficient. Before long, the Gaastra name acquired international renown in the sailing world. With this legacy as the starting point, new life was breathed into the brand in the summer of 1996, when Gaastra Sportswear was relaunched in order to create a functional nautical lifestyle brand.
More than one hundred years after its establishment, Gaastra has grown into a successful and contemporary label with a recognizable identity based on the spirit of sailing. Its success is determined by a combination of factors such as quality, innovation and fashion sense, but, above all, respect for the elements and respect for our traditions.
Since October 2000, Gaastra International Sportswear B.V. has been a part of the McGregor Fashion Group, a quoted European fashion house that is successfully marketing an exclusive selection of men’s, children’s and ladies’ brands.
For more information about Gaastra, please visit:
http://www.gaastra.eu/index_en.htm
or contact:
Rikkert Graat, Rikkert.graat@gaastra.nl, +31 (0)20 5038666
