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<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> Anette Partridge
[mailto:anette@office.northsails.com] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>Geoff.Moore@northsails.com<BR><B>Sent:</B> Friday, November 21, 2008 2:35
PM<BR><B>To:</B> anettepartridge@gmail.com; 'Hugh Beaton'<BR><B>Subject:</B>
North Sails Toronto news<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3><FONT color=#000000>Hi,<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT size=3><SPAN class=734142218-21112008>Earlier
this</SPAN> week North Sails announced that our sail manufacturing
facilities would be consolidated, and <SPAN class=734142218-21112008>that
</SPAN>our <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Mississauga</st1:City></st1:place> manufacturing plant would be
closed.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>North Sails Toronto “Sales
and Service” is not affected by this.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>However, a number of people have contacted us because they want to learn
more.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>So<SPAN
class=734142218-21112008> please allow us to </SPAN><SPAN
class=734142218-21112008>clarify the</SPAN> situation<SPAN
class=734142218-21112008> a bit more</SPAN><SPAN
class=734142218-21112008>.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT color=#000000><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
class=734142218-21112008></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT size=3>Few of our friends and customers were aware that we
had a Canadian manufacturing plant.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Fewer still had ever visited the state of the art facility<SPAN
class=734142218-21112008>. Never-the-less</SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>North Sails ha<SPAN
class=734142218-21112008>s</SPAN> been producing sails in the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Toronto</st1:City></st1:place> area for more than
thirty years.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Most of this
manufacturing was for export to Europe, or the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US<SPAN class=734142218-21112008>.</SPAN><SPAN
class=734142218-21112008> Manufacturing was, and is, completely
independent from sales and service. It was even located in a
separate building. So if you have sails with us for repair or storage
rest assured that nothing has changed.
</SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT size=3><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><SPAN
class=734142218-21112008></SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region></FONT></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT size=3><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><SPAN class=734142218-21112008>The global economic climate has
created declining demand from Europe.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Orders in North America remain
relatively strong, but recently a <SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">10,000 square
foot state-of-the-art finishing floor was added to the 120,000 square foot 3DL
plant in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Minden</st1:City> <st1:State
w:st="on">Nevada</st1:State></st1:place>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>On site finishing at 3DL resulted in efficiencies that <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mississauga</st1:place></st1:City> simply could
not keep up with.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>So rather than go
into 2009 with too much capacity North Sails made the difficult
decision to close the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Mississauga</st1:City></st1:place> plant. <SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Even with
this change North Sails still employs more people in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region> than any
other sail maker.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Our company is
strong, our staff is talented, and our products are in demand. We are
optimistic about our future.
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT size=3><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><SPAN
class=734142218-21112008></SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region></FONT></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT color=#000000><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><SPAN class=734142218-21112008><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">For those of
us who occasionally found reason to visit the production floor we were never
disappointed.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It was inspiring to
see Canadian sail makers working their craft on the huge canvases that would
ultimately become some of the world’s most magnificent sails.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Hundreds of sails, worth millions of
dollars, were exported from those plywood floors every year.
</SPAN></SPAN></st1:place></st1:country-region></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Toronto</st1:place></st1:City>
production staff had earned a world wide reputation for excellence and they were
often targeted to work on the more challenging projects. <SPAN
class=734142218-21112008> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Although we
morn the loss, North Sails, North Sails Toronto, and our customers, will benefit
from these changes.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some of the
highly skilled sail makers and design staff will move to the <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Toronto</st1:place></st1:City> sales and service
operation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Production times have
been reduced. Our sail products have been improved.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And, our prices reflect the increase in
efficiency. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Please feel free to
contact us for a quote, check out our latest technology, or just to say
hello.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT color=#000000><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=+0><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN><FONT color=#000000><FONT size=3>And, don’t
forget to stop by our booth at the Toronto Boat show<SPAN
class=734142218-21112008> in January</SPAN><SPAN
class=734142218-21112008>!</SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=+0><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=+0><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT size=3><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN
class=734142218-21112008>For those racers, Geoff Moore will be teaching a two
part North U Rules course on Tuesday and Thursday evenings 6-9pm at the boat
show. The new rule book goes into effect in January 2009 so
why not learn the new racing rules the "easy way". Boat show tickets
included with North U
tuition. </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=+0><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
color=#000000><FONT size=3><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"><SPAN
class=734142218-21112008> <A
href="http://www.northu.com/seminars.taf?_course=20&page_name=info">http://www.northu.com/seminars.taf?_course=20&page_name=info</A></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT color=#000000><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
color=#000000 size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=734142218-21112008>Sincerely,
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=734142218-21112008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=734142218-21112008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=734142218-21112008>Geoff
Moore</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=734142218-21112008>Hugh
Beaton</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Anette Partridge</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><STRONG>North Sails
Toronto</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>3520 Laird Rd, Unit
2</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Mississauga, ON L5L
5Z7</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>P:
905-569-9809</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>F:
905-569-9366</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://na.northsails.com/">http://na.northsails.com</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT face=Tahoma><BR></FONT></FONT>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><STRONG>NORTH SAILS CONSOLIDATES SAIL MANUFACTURING
FACILITIES<BR></STRONG><BR><FONT face=Arial><I>FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE<BR></I><B>Contact: </B>Veronica Brown,
401-855-0945<BR> <BR><B>November 17, 2008</B>, <I>(Milford, CT) </I>- North
Sails announced today that their sail manufacturing facilities will be
consolidated to help control the rising costs of shipping and freight within
North America. North's Mississauga, Canada production and finishing loft will be
closed effective immediately. North's local sales office, also located in
Mississauga, will remain open with expanded sail care
facilities.<BR> <BR>"Due to the rising costs of materials and shipping, we
felt consolidating our manufacturing process will ultimately benefit our
customers by reducing production time and costs," said Gary Weisman, president
of North Sails. "Hundreds of sails built at our 3DL facility in Minden, Nevada
are sent to other North Sails locations to be finished before they are shipped
to our clients," explained Weisman. "We recently expanded our 3DL facility and
added a 10,000 square foot state-of-the-art finishing floor, which allows more
sails to be finished in Minden, saving both time and money." <BR> <BR>North
Sails produces most of their the<SPAN class=687122817-17112008>r</SPAN>mo-molded
(3DL) sails in Nevada at a 120,000 square foot facility. North Sails also has
sail production and finishing facilities in Milford, CT and Stevensville, MD,
which will remain open and work loads will be increased due to the Mississauga
closing. "We will do everything we can to place our Mississauga employees in
other locations," concluded Weisman. "Our employees are very talented and
valuable, and we will make every effort to make sure they have options within
North Sails."<BR> <BR>###<BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3> <BR></FONT><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica" size=2>North Sails has
become the worldwide leader in sailmaking through an ongoing commitment to
designing and building sails that are faster, lighter and more long lasting than
any other sails in the world. Whether you race or cruise, North Sails is
committed to designing and building sails that can power you around your local
harbor, race course, or around the world. In 1992, North Sails introduced 3DL, a
revolutionary sailmaking technology that thermo-molds sails as a unitary
membrane on a full-sized three-dimensional mold. When performance matters, the
choice is clear. </FONT><A
title="blocked::blocked::http://www.northsails.com/
blocked::http://www.northsails.com/"
href="blocked::http://www.northsails.com/"><FONT
title="blocked::blocked::http://www.northsails.com/
blocked::http://www.northsails.com/"
face="Arial, Helvetica" color=#800080 size=2>www.northsails.com</A></FONT><FONT
face="Arial, Helvetica" size=2>.</FONT></FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial
size=2>::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2>Veronica Brown</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2>North Sails Marketing</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2>401-855-0945</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
title=blocked::http://www.northsails.com/
href="http://www.northsails.com/">www.northsails.com</A></FONT></DIV>
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