EFTTA member company Hardy & Greys has announced what it believes to be the biggest development in fishing rod design for 25 years. A new technology developed by the UK company called SINTRIX could herald a technological advancement every bit as dramatic as the transition from glass fibre to carbon, says Managing Director Richard Sanderson.
SINTRIX can be used to create rods that are 60% stronger, up to 30% lighter and with dramatically improved impact resistance over conventional carbon fibre. Hardy & Greys estimates that within five years up to 70% of its Hardy, Greys and Chub branded rods will be made using SINTRIX. It is backing its innovation with its biggest ever investment.
Says Richard Sanderson: “Nothing close to this has existed since Richard Walker and Jim Hardy worked on those first carbon fibre rods. The industry needed a step-change and this is it. All the industry has ever seen is a 3-5% improvement but this will be on a whole new level. It will quickly become the industry standard.
“Others will follow us but they won’t have SINTRIX,” he added. “Competitors will make claims but they will take forever to get close to this. The SINTRIX formulation is unique to us.
“Without question this is the biggest investment we’ve ever made, and includes a huge marketing spend.”
Hardy & Greys introduced SINTRIX to the industry at EFTTEX in Valencia and will have fully-cosmetic production models ready for the ANSPO show in Germany in September. Initially the new technology will be used in three Hardy fly rod ranges available from January 2011. There will be one saltwater range and two freshwater, which will include double-handed models. It will later be transferred to the company‘s carp, coarse and sea ranges under the Greys and Chub banners.
“As a marketeer you might be handed something this special once in a lifetime,” added Richard Sanderson. “In my previous career I have been fortunate enough to be involved with the Black & Decker Workmate and the Barbie doll, which sold millions of units annually. I would put this on a par with those groundbreaking innovations.”
For details of how SINTRIX works and the testing behind the new rods see the July issue of Angling International.
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