Rochdale-based Custom Composites has helped a former champion’s company to compete with the best in the business.
Toby Jones, a two-time K1 Welsh Canoe Slalom Champion, set up TJ Composites in November 2015, to cater specifically for the competitive market for unsigned young paddlers who are looking to make a name for themselves.
For Jones’ customers, build quality is crucial, as it affects the way the canoe cuts through the water, which can add or reduce vital seconds on a run.
The manufacturing of the canoes is equally competitive as the racing itself, and under pressure from the ever-cheaper Eastern European market, Jones needed a local high-end alternative, and Custom Composites stepped in.
Custom Composites are a leading provider of bespoke composite tubes, and they provided Jones with hybrid tubes for the shafts of a new range of high-end, tapered, and parallel kayak paddles.
These contain a black epoxy glass inner and a carbon fibre outer, making them extremely light and very strong.
Jones said: “It doesn’t matter how good the paddles are if the shaft isn’t right. This is particularly important for a new start-up business like mine where there is a lot of high quality competition out there. It means my products have got to be right first time because customers rarely look twice. Paddles can actually delaminate over time and cheaper materials can even snap if you hit a rock.”
Brand loyalty is another competitive aspect of the sport, and the best professional kayakers can attract lucrative sponsorship deals from global manufacturers, meaning they have little or no choice but to commit to a certain brand for the duration of a season.
This means securing the early customer base is critical, so Jones, a former Under-23 Team GB kayaker, has been targeting aspiring athletes, hoping that the quality of his brand will pay off.
He said: “One of the ways I have been quite successful compared to other new start-ups in the slalom market is all the athletes and coaches I met during my paddling career. I have been able to put my brand in front of them and show the quality.”
He concluded: “Visiting the guys at Custom Composites really helped me understand how they work and how their tubes are made, which helps me to speak to my customers with more confidence. It also gives them a better idea of my needs and the needs of my customers to get the product right first time. Their depth of knowledge in the composites industry and specifically tubes means they’re useful people to know.”