BARTELS – generations of experience on the water

1. Furling and reefing systems for traditional sailing boats and racing yachts around the world.
2. Rail engineering – if you've ever taken an intercity ICE in Germany, you're probably aware of our products
3. Shade sails – the logical sideline of a company specialising in sails.

The BARTELS team develops and manufactures all of its products. So when you can't get hold of a team member, they're probably just testing one of our latest products. The BARTELS brand is based on a 'made in Germany' philosophy and products can be seen on 18 to 100-metre yachts around the world.

The founder of what is BARTELS GmbH today, H. Bartels, started out by building wooden canoes, before moving on to build wooden dinghies. Driven by a desire for safety, he conceived the first furling systems for this sailing boat. It was a uniquely innovative concept at the time. He built the system himself and founded BARTELS as a company to manufacture furling equipment. Right from the start, he continually optimised the equipment and extended the range.

Since then, every generation has moved the company forward, based on the very philosophy of its founder. However, there has been one constant throughout the years. Every young Bartels successor has brought new ideas on board and convinced the team of the need to push out the boundaries of the business. When Sven Bartels took over, the company entered the rail engineering market. Since his son, Florian Bartels, has been at the helm, the company has been applying its expertise in sailing and rail engineering to shade sail products.

BARTELS is based in Markdorf on Lake Constance and employs a team of around 30 people, including engineers, technicians and experts in development and manufacturing. State-of-the-art equipment for processing stainless steel and wire ropes provide the company with the capacity to produce 1,800 furling systems per year. BARTELS has been reputed for its first-class marine products - trusted by sailors around the world - for over 45 years. Sailors not only rate our products because they look good - they also hold their own in bad weather and tough racing conditions, in which both the crew and the equipment are pushed to their limits.

It is always good to know who you're dealing with and what their background is. Water is a central theme that has been flowing through BARTELS for generations. This love of water all began with a few tree trunks, which were arduously built into a raft on the river Elbe. The romantic side of the BARTELS story was probably added when the tale was told around the fireside. However, the company has never strayed far from the Elbe, which remains the centre of our activity and location of our company today. As the captain of an ice-breaker. Perhaps it was back then that the company laid the foundations of their philosophy of mastering challenges with their own resources.