Wichard Group has invested €22 million in a new Sparcraft industrial site at Sainte-Soulle near La Rochelle. The move brings mast, boom and rigging production together in one location after activity had previously been spread across several facilities.
The investment includes €14.5 million for the property and €7.5 million for industrial equipment. Wichard says the project is intended to support Sparcraft's production capability for the next two decades.
Production is being consolidated
Sparcraft has been part of Wichard Group since 2013 and supplies aluminium spars and rigging equipment to sailing-boat builders and owners. Consolidating activity should reduce internal transport and make production planning easier to coordinate.
The new equipment is also intended to improve quality control, responsiveness and working conditions. Those improvements matter in spar production because dimensional accuracy and repeatability directly affect rig setup and sailing performance.
A major investment in sailing hardware
Most marine-industry capital announcements focus on complete boats, but this project targets one of the core systems used on sailing craft. Masts, booms and associated rigging influence weight, sail handling and structural loads on boats across a wide size range.
For owners of smaller cruising and performance yachts, greater manufacturing capacity can affect lead times for replacement spars and new-build equipment. The investment does not guarantee shorter delivery times, but it gives Sparcraft more production infrastructure to work with.
La Rochelle remains an important marine cluster
The new site keeps Sparcraft close to the French Atlantic marine industry around La Rochelle. That area supports boatbuilders, equipment manufacturers, service companies and one of Europe's major in-water boat shows.
Wichard's decision reinforces the region's role as a production centre rather than only a sales and exhibition location. Leisure Boat Guide will follow whether the expanded facility leads to new spar products or additional capacity for smaller production sailboats.