Gul International Ltd
A perfect place for marine leisure industry success
Growth in the marine leisure industry and being located in Cornwall has provided the perfect platform for success and ongoing research and development for Gul Wetsuits. Gul’s rapid expansion has meant that the company manufacturers in excess of 40,000 wetsuits worldwide per year and exports to over 50 countries.
Brian Love, MD of Gul International believes the key to their continued domestic and international success is “Gul’s products are tried, tested and then refined by pro surfers, pro sailors and our dedicated design team in the harshest conditions to ensure they provide users with the ultimate protection and usability. The skills and expertise we need are all available to us in Cornwall. Our commitment to research and development keeps us at the forefront of technology and in the hearts and minds of distributors, retailers and consumers alike”.
It has been more than 40 years since Dennis Cross, a man with a passion for surfing, decided that enough was enough. Although he loved surfing, the waters of the Atlantic hitting the Cornish coast were too cold. He therefore set about finding a solution to the problem and that was how the first custom-built Gul wetsuit for surfers was born.
The first wetsuit was constructed around 1962/63 in the back of his VW Split Screen Van on Fistral Beach, Newquay, Cornwall and consisted of 2 pieces – a jacket with a beaver tail and separate trousers.
Demand for Gul wetsuits increased very quickly and production moved to a lock up garage at the back of the Bristol Hotel in Newquay. This was the beginning of Gul and the beginning of surfing in England. It was during the late 1960’s that the boom started for Gul – they were one of only a handful of manufacturers in Europe and demand was increasing at an amazing rate.
Gul’s immediate success wasn’t solely down to a boom in surfing in the UK, France, Portugal and Spain, but also the advent of windsurfing in Holland around the mid ‘70’s. Gul suits were ideal for windsurfing due to their warmth and extra flexibility and business was growing rapidly across Europe and expansion was needed. The three members of staff that were running the business grew to 15 and were producing 200-300 suits per week.
The eighties and nineties saw continued expansion throughout Europe and extending to worldwide appeal. Gul had become one of the most well-known and respected watersports brands, sponsoring some of the highest profile surfers in the world, including Christian Fletcher, Todd Prestage and Russell Winter.
In 1995 Gul had a purpose built 60,000 sqft £2 million factory built in Bodmin, which was the most modern wetsuit manufacturing facility in Europe and employed over 160 people.
Cornwall remains home to Gul’s R&D activity and for Brian it will always be the company’s natural home:
“Cornwall has everything we need, we continue to look at how we can improve our wetsuits and test new materials and designs. We have a passionate team, who are always one step ahead ensuring we continue to innovate and inspire the next generation of surfers and watersport lovers.”
www.gul.co.uk