G'day all,

I was asked the other day where ozone kites are from and I wasn't sure, I know they are manufactured in Vietnam but are they a euro company? Ozone website contact details it looks like the phone number referrs to UK so does that mean they are English compay.

So, just wondering, where is Ozone from, country wise?

cheers,

Robbie

Ozone headquarters is in Raglan New Zealand. Ozone own their own factory in Vietnam where they manufacture Just in Time.

Ozone as a corporation is kind of multi-national. They're originally from the UK and the managing director is still there. The paragliding arm is in France. The kiting arm is in NZ and the manufacturing base for everything is in Vietnam.

... nah nothing, I was asked the question by a newbie the other day and was just making sure i wasn't bullsh!ting is all!

Thanks!!

Actually, i found that quite interesting. Can anyone indulge me by telling me about North - who owns them, where are they made etc. I looked it up on the website but didn't find anything.

so one tell me why ozone release all their gear much later than the competition? Wouldn't they be missing out on sales to some extent?!

eppo said..

Steve said he does have a theory on it but won't say until it is confirmed. Yeh that puzzles me somewhat. I had two kites on sea breeze that sat there for a while but have both moved now things are ramping up. I know five guys including myself who are set for the season. Scratching my head on that one too big eeeze. Even some demos flying around would have been very useful. Then crew might wait until they actually come out.

Same here, I've been searching the net for any info on the new Reo but found sweet FA. So now have ordered new kites and set for the season (will be keeping my trusty Reo,s until satisfied with the new editions).

I,m thinking Ozone are just not ready yet?

There is a plan, and its not to fill forums with trivial marketing spin and subsequently put unwanted pressure on the Ozone design, R&D and manufacturing divisions.
Ozone are just different to any other brand out there. As far as I know, no other brands own their own manufacturing plants, that manufacture exclusively for that brand. Some use parts of a multi brand (OEM) plant, but thats a completely different set-up. The second thing that sets Ozone apart, is that they manufacture to individual order, based on the Just In Time (JIT) business model. Ozone do not manufacture and stockpile large amounts of stock, 6-12 months in advance of release dates, this is how other brands get to leak news of new models, the stock was planned 12 months earlier and are sitting in warehouses already.
Finally, Ozone only manufacture kites and paragliders, they do not manufacture boards, windsurf gear, SUP's, harnesses, etc, etc. They just don't have the same marketing budget, and prefer to spend on good team and great web content.
Due to the JIT manufacturing system, Ozone can release only 1 model at a time, starting with the Reo this year. This will be followed by the Cat, then C4, etc.
There are some distinct advantages to the JIT model and of course some downsides, like the one some of you have mentioned above. One of the big plusses is that Ozone can fine tune their construction and designs, always improving, every part of the design and manufacturing process. This is not possible with the traditional model most brands use, these brands make 1-5/10 thousand kites at a time, if there is a fault or weakness in the design, nothing can be changed until the next season or production run. I think we can all remember kites/brands that have had problems that affected an entire seasons product?

Ozone is a unique brand within the industry, unique in that it uses a manufacturing system that is entirely different to the rest of the industry, a design team that has a unique heritage and world champion (dual world champ) designer status in a related design field (paragliding wing design), exclusively manufacture in their own facility, etc, etc.

Big eeeZeee said..

so one tell me why ozone release all their gear much later than the competition? Wouldn't they be missing out on sales to some extent?!

In what sense would they be missing out??? I mean, why do people necessarily want or need to buy equipment as soon as "brand A" releases what they believe to be "2014" equipment... as far as I'm aware, 2014 equipment would mean gear released in 2014, not half way through 2013. Every year it seems to get earlier and it's just stupid really. Not to mention the season hasn't even begun yet, so what's the rush? Especially so in the rest of the world.
Also as Steve points out, everything Ozone does is ready just in time, including all R&D that is done up to the last moments. Where as other brands are finishing a whole equipment line almost a year in advance, this means that the "2014" gear and developments they are delivering you is at least half a year (if not a year) old before it even hits the shelves (2012).

You can make your own mind up on this, but personally I would rather wait another month or so to get a better product from Ozone. We have all done it before, bought something because it's the newest thing out and then been totally shattered when a month or two later a competitior comes out with a far superior product, I wouldn't want that happening .

Hey well explained Steve, that makes sense now.

They do love the latest and greatest, but lets be honest most people always wait to see all options before making a purchase. As I mentioned, who wants to buy one new thing only to be laughed at a month or so later when a better product emerges.

This whole "2014" launch brands do is just stupid anyway, as I said it gets earlier and earlier every year, soon they will be releasing 2016 before 2015 has even started... Where do you draw the line? The focus shouldn't be on the year model number anyway, it should be on the performance it delivers. People get hyped over the stupidest ****.

Makes me think maybe Ozone should just quit making 2014 gear and instead label it "2015 LTD ED PRO" pre-release only .

cauncy said..

whats the point in buying something 2014 when you havnt scratched the surface of a say a 2012s capabilities,, i personally dont get wrapped up in all this bull****, but if it makes you feel a better rider and you look better in all the latest gear go for it, imho i carnt see the point

It's awesome buying last years kites for 500 bucks.


:)

NSQ said..

North Kiteboarding is owned by german company Boards & More, who also own Fanatic (windsurf, SUP), ION and North Sails.
Their Kites are manufactured in their own factory in Sri Lanka, the boards in Austria.

its not there own factory. cores and zians allso made there. just different sections. intresting that the boards are austrian so is the owner/part owner of elements and zian. maybe thats why there all buddy

i didnt know ion and north were under same flag to that was good to know

^^^ Yes they do go through the same rigorous testing procedures, this is one of the main reasons why the new push away release took so long, and why some other features of their equipment have taken a while to get to the public release stage. Its also why information about new stuff is highly restricted, so that the test, design and R&D team are not under pressure to push something through that is not thoroughly tested to the highest standards.

I can't speak for RRD, but I'm almost certain they are manufacured in one of the large OEM factories in China, Sri Lanka or Thailand, in large batches. This is very, very different to the way every product made by Ozone is manufactured. When a dealer places an order in the Ozone online order system, the factory recieves it and then the order is broken into all the individual parts, parts are assigned to individual serial numbers, and eventually assembled into the finished product. Give me a serial number of any Ozone and I can tell you exactly when it was manufactured, when it was shipped, on which invoice, and which dealer it was delivered to and when. Ozone do not hold stock, they build to order, this is why they have staggered model releases, if they tried to release 5 models at once, the manufacturing times would blow out to several weeks, and the system would not work. Normally factory lead times are 10 -15 days.

Interesting topic, I think production has to slow down eventually as they start to release products two years then maybe longer like cars, coz eventually it has to get to a point where you can only do so much right??

You have to bring out a new model every year because everybody else's product is improving. Who going to buy your two year old model and pay full price for it when they can get something newer and better somewhere else?