Avon Inflatables

Avon Inflatables, Ltd
Industry inflatable boats
Founded 1959, England
Parent Zodiac Marine

Avon Inflatables, Ltd is a manufacturer of inflatable boats, RIBs and marine safety equipment. The company is based in Dafen, near the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and supplies the leisure, commercial and military markets.

History

The company was founded in 1959 in the town of Bradford on Avon in the English county of Wiltshire, and moved to its current location in the 1960s.[1]

Until 1994, Avon Inflatables formed part of Avon Rubber, but the business was then sold and now operates independently of its former parent. Since 1998, the company has been a division of Zodiac Marine of France.

Avon and survival at sea

There are numerous accounts of survival at sea involving Avon equipment.

  • The Perfect Storm describes the use of Avon inflatable rafts under extreme conditions.[2]
  • Steven Callahan survived adrift for 76 days. In a 1983 letter to Cruising World, Callahan said “I must express my appreciation to Avon, who built a good product that did it's [sic] job for 76 days.”[3]
  • Two sailors survived 13 days at sea in their Avon raft after abandoning ship in a 1981 incident.[4]
  • Avon cites a 117-day survival.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Avon Inflatables Ltd. - About Avon Inflatables". 17 April 2006. Archived from the original on 17 April 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  2. ↑ Junger, Sebastian. The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 158. ISBN 9780393076615.
  3. ↑ Cruising World. January 1983. p. 6.
  4. ↑ Cartwright, Jerry (July 1981). Lessons from two survivors. Motor Boating. pp. 22–30.
  5. ↑ "Avon Inflatables Ltd. - Ocean, Coastline and Modula Liferafts". 15 February 2006. Archived from the original on 15 February 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2017.


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