Please select your home edition
Edition
X-Yachts Leaderboard 2024 2

Armare Ropes - Local Ropemaker to America's Cup Supplier

by Kerri Robson 13 Feb 2020 01:00 PST
Giuseppe Finco © Armare Ropes

Despite being a small, family-run business, Armare Ropes are operating at the top of their game.

Boasting five generations of knowledge, the traditional ropemaker has earned its place as a leading specialist and is now proud to be the official Emirates Team New Zealand rope supplier.

But how did this little, local, Italian rope producer make it to the top?

Armare Ropes was founded 200 years ago by the Finco family. Located near Venice, the business began by producing twisted hemp ropes for local agriculture and fishing industries.

In 1929, the business relocated to San Giorgio di Nogaro. This move was strategic: equidistant from Venice and Trieste, two of Italy's largest ports, Armare Ropes broke into the sailing industry, producing ropes for large sailing and power boats.

Until the 1950s, Armare Ropes specialised in twisted, natural hemp fibres. The hemp was cultivated, spun and woven by hand by the Finco and Furian families, who eventually married in order to grow the business.

The late 1950s saw the introduction of Nylon into rope manufacture. Polyester soon followed, and dominated for the 1960s and 1970s, alongside a move from twisted to braided ropes.

As success grew, Armare Ropes shifted into the leisure sailing market in the 1970s. Soon after, high tech fibres were introduced: Kevlar in 1982, Vectran in 1992, followed by Dyneema and PBO.

Producing top-end ropes, Armare developed a strong Italian customer base. But since 2000, the company has been extending its reach worldwide.

And that hasn't gone unnoticed. The official rope supplier to Emirates Team New Zealand, Armare Ropes secured this relationship for the last edition of the America's Cup, with great product feedback and a thriving working relationship allowing Armare to continue this into the next cycle.

But what are the reasons behind Armare Ropes' success?

The prosperous relationship between Armare and Emirates Team New Zealand - as well as other racing teams - has provided a fantastic platform for the technical development of Armare's racing products, and it is no surprise that Armare's volume of racing lines has grown significantly over the last 5 years.

In addition, as a small business - with just 32 staff - Armare Ropes are capable of doing things other manufacturers can't. As a small-scale specialist, Armare is able to create niche, top-end, custom applications which bigger manufacturers are unable to fit into their large-scale production facilities.

Looking ahead, Armare is making moves into the superyacht market; the increasing size of superyachts aligns perfectly with Armare's history in large vessel ropes, and its ability to adapt and develop custom finishes and solutions is proving beneficial in this market.

Another important product for Armare Ropes is composite standing rigging cables: forestays, backstays, lateral rigging and torsional furling cables. We plan to cover these in a future blog, so keep an eye out on the upffront.com blogs page.

Already armed with Armare Ropes, are or looking to try something new? We have torsional cables, thimbles, rope and other rope-related accessories online now, and we are constantly adding new stock. View the Armare Ropes range online.

Related Articles

Soft shackles are a win-win solution
Upffront look at their use across multiple applications Soft shackles have surely penetrated the mainstream sailing in recent years. They are a popular alternative to traditional metal shackles. Made from single braid Dyneema® soft shackles offer several advantages over their metal counterparts. Posted on 8 Feb 2024
Vakaros Atlas 2 - sailing with ultimate precision
A careful review by the experts at upffront.com Recently upffront.com have introduced the latest Vakaros Atlas 2 sailing instrument to the shop and compared it in a review of other top sailing instruments. Posted on 25 Jan 2024
Sailing instruments from Velocitek/Sailmon/Vakaros
An introduction and comparison from Upffront.com The term 'sailing instrument' is broadly applicable to just about any onboard system with a sensor and a readout. While wired instrument systems are common, in this blog we discuss portable GPS sailing instruments from Velocitek, Sailmon and Vakaros. Posted on 11 Jan 2024
Introducing Ronstan Orbit Winches
QuickTrim feature allows line to be eased without removing handle or line Ronstan have just launched an all new range of Aluminium Self-tailing Orbit Winches in three sizes plus an innovative new QuickTrim feature which allows the line to be eased without removing the handle or the line from the self-tailer. Posted on 7 Jun 2023
Performance Code Zero Furlers
Options from KZ Racefurlers put under the spotlight We are pleased to introduce KZ Racefurlers to the upffront.com website. Racing sailors will need little introduction, as KZ have been gracing the bows of grand prix race boats for almost 30 years. Posted on 28 Jan 2023
How to Choose a Spinlock Deckvest
The main consideration is usage and application Lifejacket pioneers Spinlock are renowned for their sleek, comfortable to wear, high-spec lifejackets. In a previous article, we introduced the full range of Deckvests and took a look at the features and benefits of each. Posted on 16 Sep 2021
Best Sailing Boat Blocks in 2021
Review covers soft attach, snatch looper, open ring, beckets and more In this article we take a quick look at what is new and/or interesting in the sailing block world in 2021. Harken continue to develop soft attach blocks. Morfrac Systems are developing their product line to include becket versions of their blocks. Posted on 7 Sep 2021
Make Waves with nke Marine Electronics
Innovative systems for racing or cruising It's the age of information, and global technological advancements have revolutionised our lives and industries alike. As with many others, the sailing industry has benefitted from the introduction of marine electronics that make it easier. Posted on 23 Nov 2018
Introduction to Core Fibres in Modern Ropes
The majority are polyester or Dyneema There are many core materials used in rope making (e.g. Vectran®, PBO, polypropylene, hemp, nylon etc) but the vast majority of modern ropes are based on a polyester, or increasingly, a Dyneema® core. Get a basic introduction here. Posted on 9 Nov 2018
High Performance, Low Hassle Family Cruising
The radical - but not too radical - 39BEN How do you design a cruising boat that's fast enough to get your competitive juices flowing, but without scaring the family? That's been the challenge for Alex Vrolijk, who has drawn the lines for the radical - but not too radical - 39BEN. Posted on 26 Oct 2018
Allen Dynamic 40 FooterV-DRY-XZhik 2024 December