PSA to inject more than 400 boats into Australian market for the Laser 2020 Summer of Sailing
by Laser 2020 Media 4 Sep 2019 23:12 PDT
Zoe Wong and Jasmine Roberson hard at work in the PSA factory © PSA
Production at the NSW Central Coast factory of Performance Sailcraft Australia is in full swing as the company looks ahead to a busy summer of Laser sailing in Australia.
Laser 2020 begins on January 1 with the Australian Laser Championships at Sandringham Yacht Club, followed by the Oceania Championships at Sail Melbourne later that month. The Laser Standard and Men's and Women's Radial World Championships will be sailed at Sandringham in February, followed by the Oceania/Australian and World Laser Masters Championships at Geelong in March. Go to www.laser2020.com.au for details and entry links.
Jason Goulding, PSA Sales and Customer Service Manager, says the company will produce between 400 and 450 new Lasers in 2019 for the coming Summer.
"We have taken on extra staff to cater for the events and have created some new moulds," Goulding says. "The events have changed the dynamic of the factory for the better over the past year or two."
Because the Laser is a strict one-design class, production has to be carefully controlled to ensure every boat comes out of the mould within very tight parameters for both dimensions and weight. As a result, PSA puts a lot of effort into ensuring its staff are well-trained for the job.
"We're very proud of our staff," Goulding says, adding that this factory is definitely not a 'bloke's world'.
"We now have some great young ladies building our boats and covering all areas of production," he says.
The company will produce 160 new charter boats for the Senior Worlds and another 200 plus boats for lead up, training and other events. The boats will be shipped to Melbourne in 40ft containers, arriving in plenty of time for the January 1 start date.
The charter boats will be available for sale post-event at discounted rates and PSA also offers international purchasers assistance with duty and GST refunds for boats that are bought in Australia and then exported to the sailor's home country.
For more information or to enquire about sale and charter prices, go to www.psasailing.com.au, email or call 02 4389 1088.