Ullman Sails

Visiting one of the largest sailmakers in the world

In Cape Town, where the largest production center of sailmaker Ullman Sails is now located, we discovered not just one sail-loft floor, but five or six! However, the story didn't begin in South Africa: it was in Newport Beach, California, that David Ullman, at the time aged just 21, built his first sail loft.

Ullman Sails

Published 30/06/2023

By Emmanuel van Deth

Issue: 190

Published: july / aug. 2023

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The year was 1967. 12 years later, a second site was opened in Dallas, and growth continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Today, Ullman Sails is represented in 25 countries and has 75 sites. The largest of these is in Cape Town, South Africa, and this is the one we got to visit. There is a staff of 120, and sails of all materials are made here. There's one workshop dedicated to the manufacture of FiberParth membranes. It's also on these floors that the sails for the Leopard range - and many other catamarans built in South Africa - are made. Over the past 30 years, more than 100,000 sails have been produced here! The sailmaker is also diversifying its activities with a clothing range, Six Seven by Ullman.

www.ullmansails.com

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