This Breton company equips Vendée Globe sailboats with:
Ropes, textile cables and rigging
DEN-RAN x OUEST FRANCE
DEN-RAN featured in OUEST FRANCE, March 14, 2025
As part of its “Behind the scenes at the Vendée Globe” series, Ouest-France highlights the companies in the Pays d’Auray that contribute to the excellence of ocean racing. This region, a veritable hub of expertise in the Bretagne Sailing Valley, is home to numerous companies recognized by teams and skippers for their know-how and high standards.
DEN-RAN had the pleasure of being featured in this series, highlighting its work in equipping the Vendée Globe 2024-2025 sailboats with ropes, cables, and rigging. A great recognition for our team and our commitment to the world’s greatest races.
Read the full article on DEN-RAN here
“An island of Bretagne Sailing Valley can be found in the Pen Er Pont business park in Ploemel (Morbihan): the workshops of the Den-Ran company; specialists in rigging. This company has built up a solid reputation in the Vendée Globe (VG) world, but not only, thanks to their innovative products and well-honed processes.”
This Breton company equips sailboats in the Vendée Globe «ropes, cables and rigging »
“One of Den Ran’s specialties is its filament-wound anti-twist textile rope, unique in France and stranded on their premises in Ploemel. They sell 160,000 meters of rope.”
As with sails and hulls, the sailing industry requires huge surface areas. And in the world of ropes, you need length! To avoid snags in Den-Ran’s rope workshop, an interminable meter is fixed to the wooden floor.
Specializing in rigging, the company has set up its 2,500 m² workshop in the Pen Er Pont business park in Ploemel (Morbihan). We equipped 17 Vendée Globe (VG) sailboats,” says Anaïs Parthiot, communications manager. Sébastien Marsset, Louis Duc, Manuel Cousin, Maxime Sorel… »
« We take care of sailboats outside the one-design class, but we’re not a referenced supplier to the Imoca class », explains Olivier Servettaz, the company’s managing director.
Den-Ran’s 2,500 m2 workshops are located in the Pen Er Pont business park in Ploemel, where they install standing and running rigging on masts.
Pontoons at Pen Er Pont
Once the hull has been built and the sails designed, so that the whole becomes coherent, the sailboat must be rigged. It’s at this stage of outfitting an Imoca that Den-Ran’s technicians and seamen come into play. We fit the sailboat with ropes, cables, and all standing and running rigging. says the communications manager. Once they’re away, the VG skippers never call us again.
Founded in 2006 by former Royale sailor Olivier Servettaz, the company started modestly. I used to take my seaman’s bag out on the boats! recalls Olivier Servettaz.
So how does one go from the pontoons to a company with 14 employees? “I had a few opportunities, meetings, explains the modest founder, whose career path changed radically when he met former VG competitors Laurent Bourgnon and Thomas Coville.”
A reputation built on word-of-mouth
Over the years, Olivier Servettaz has built up a solid reputation as a rigger in the world of yachting and ocean racing. In its 19 years of existence, the company’s manager explains this success by the bond we’ve created with the skippers. “We talk to them all the time, we’re responsive, and we’re there from A to Z, even after delivery”. And Anaïs adds : “We have know-how and experience: the preparation of a race always follows the same mechanics. We’re used to it.”
Ocean racing accounts for some 70% of Den-Ran’s sales. We are present in all classes: Multi 50, Ultim…
Discover also the other companies of the Pays d’Auray highlighted in this series of reports by Ouest France :
Atelier sur Mer
Skysat
Marine Weather Intelligence
All Purpose
Wakal Films
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