Avon Inflatables
Industry | inflatable boats |
---|---|
Founded | 1959, England |
Parent | Zodiac Marine |
Avon Inflatables, Ltd is a manufacturer of inflatable boats, RIBs and . The company is based in Dafen, near the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and supplies the leisure, commercial and military markets.
History[]
The company was founded in 1959 in the town of Bradford on Avon in the English county of Wiltshire, and moved to its current location in the 1960s.[1]
Until 1994, Avon Inflatables formed part of Avon Rubber, but the business was then sold and now operates independently of its former parent. Since 1998, the company has been a division of Zodiac Marine of France.[2]
In 2019, Avon launched an electric jet-drive tender. The dinghy is powered by a battery from the BMW i3 car and was developed in partnership with Torqeedo, owned by Deutz AG.[3]
Avon and survival at sea[]
There are numerous accounts of survival at sea involving Avon equipment.
- The Perfect Storm describes the use of Avon inflatable rafts under extreme conditions.[4]
- Steven Callahan survived adrift for 76 days. In a 1983 letter to Cruising World, Callahan said “I must express my appreciation to Avon, who built a good product that did it's [sic] job for 76 days.”[5]
- Two sailors survived 13 days at sea in their Avon raft after abandoning ship in a 1981 incident.[6]
- Avon cites a 117-day survival.[7]
References[]
- ^ "Avon Inflatables Ltd. - About Avon Inflatables". 17 April 2006. Archived from the original on 17 April 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
- ^ "Rebrand for Avon Inflatables after takeover". Insider Media. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ "New in 2019: Avon and Torqeedo launch the eJET 450 electric tender -". Boatmag International (in Italian). 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
- ^ Junger, Sebastian (1997). The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 158. ISBN 9780393076615.
survival at sea, avon.
- ^ Cruising World. January 1983. p. 6.
- ^ Cartwright, Jerry (July 1981). Lessons from two survivors. Motor Boating. pp. 22–30.
- ^ "Avon Inflatables Ltd. - Ocean, Coastline and Modula Liferafts". 15 February 2006. Archived from the original on 15 February 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
External links[]
- Manufacturing companies of Wales
- Companies based in Carmarthenshire
- Welsh brands
- Welsh company stubs
- Water transport stubs