Fourteen years ago, Ian McFarlane, a keen sailor, decided to jump ship from his 28-year career in textile and product development to set up Nautilus Braids in Springston, near Christchurch.

“I’ve sailed most of my life and have plenty of experience with textiles, so it made sense to start a business to supply the marine industry with ropes made from high-performance, multi-filament polyester and synthetic materials.”

The successful business now employs five staff and supplies ropes to the marine, equine, caving, dairy and civil construction sectors.

McFarlane says it’s impossible to compete with mass-produced Chinese ropes, so he focuses on tailor-made ropes designed to meet his clients’ specifications. He relies on good internet connectivity to send drawings to clients, along with emails discussing applications and requirements.

“For example, riggers setting up a new or secondhand boat will describe applications for the rope and send through plans. We interpret their needs, make a rope sample, send it to them and then continue the discussion by email.”

Based in rural Canterbury, the team has also created valuable innovations for local farmers, products which are now sold globally.

“My neighbour had a problem with a cord used during milking. When cows are milked on a rotary platform, there’s an ACR cord which pulls the milking cups off the udders. If the cord breaks, the cluster of cups falls into the effluent which is a real problem.

“We developed a hard, durable cord with an increased twist level. We manufacture 168,000 metres of it per year for the New Zealand market and now sell it into Australia, Ireland and the US.”

Along with discovering new markets online, he also uses the internet to research and source high-tech fibre and machinery.

“We’re always breaking into new areas, and sometimes need to modify our machines. We’ve sourced new carriers for our braiding machines when we had requests to braid wire for safety harnesses and to make bungies for electric fences. I found the manufacturer online and we had ongoing communication to get the right product.

“We can do a quick turnaround and produce excellent custom-made rope. We recently had an email from a guy in the US who is testing our ropes for a dairying application. He said they are 2.6 times better than anything he’s had before, and he wants to start a business relationship.”

Nautilus Braids is currently upgrading its website which will soon provide plenty of technical information for customers – covering topics such as how ropes stretch, or the impact of knotting rather than splicing ropes.”