Our story
Think sustainable.
For 25 years, the kite and now the wing industry has been producing its products on the other side of the world in Asia. For Zephyr, it is essential to give meaning to our actions by manufacturing in France and minimizing the transportation of materials around the world.
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When creating a wing brand, we had no intention of following the typical pattern: wing designs outsourced to a designer, manufacturing done by an Asian factory, then shipping to Europe and selling. At Zephyr, we control the sewing machine! We are primarily engineers, and we also work with our hands. We understand why a particular assembly needs to be sewn in a certain way or how to add more or less curvature to a very specific part of the wing. We have full control over the manufacturing of all our wings.
Zephyr Wing has a dual objective:
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To create a high-performance wing.
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To develop a more sustainable and environmentally friendly manufacturing model by bringing wing production back to France.
The first point has been achieved through extensive 3D design work, numerous prototypes, and hundreds of hours on the water. This has allowed us to arrive at an exceptionally high-performing design. That's the "easy" part.
However, the second point presents a genuine engineering and production challenge. To enable French manufacturing while remaining competitive on prices, significant work has been done on the assembly process.
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Every cut, fold, adhesive application, and sewing operation has been meticulously thought out to optimize production while maintaining extreme durability. We collaborate with partners across the country and Europe. That's also what Made in France is all about.
The first requirement in the Zephyr specifications is a durable wing. Therefore, we have focused our efforts on the wing's robustness by selecting materials that greatly exceed the strength requirements and by applying layers of reinforcements (up to 8 layers!) internally in high-stress areas.
The second requirement is a versatile wing that can adapt to a wide range of conditions, styles of practice, and rider sizes. For this, the wing must have a good low-end range, not overpower in high winds, be easy to forget during freeflying, and more. All of these aspects have been refined through repeated trials and feedback from practitioners of all levels and navigation styles.
