In 2001 Bufab Stainless was chosen as the deliverer of fasteners for one of the boats in the Volvo Ocean Race, formerly known as the Whitbread Around the World Race.

Volvo Ocean Race, formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race, is the sailor's Mount Everest and the world's toughest and longest sailing race. Over nine months, the competitors cross four oceans and pass five continents. Both the boats and the crews are subjected to immense pressures, both by top-level competition and the encounter with nature's most awesome forces. This sailing race round the world has been run seven times before, every four years since 1973. The start is in Southampton, England on September 23rd 2001. 32 250 nautical miles later, the winner passes the finish line in Kiel, Germany, in June 2002.

Last time EF Language won the race need we say that Bufab Stainless deliverde the fasteners to their ship?

Read more about that race below.

Magnus Olsson, watch captain of EF Language, was one of two Swedish sailors on the winning boat. He was also responsible for the sporting side of the whole Whitbread project.

"Ocean-going yacht racing relies on materials and naturally it’s vital to have a good supplier of fasteners. I must say that Bufab Stainless not only met my greatest expectations but exceeded them. I’ve rarely encountered such professional, helpful and enthusiastic partners.".

"Not once did they use the word ‘impossible’. They were always highly motivated in their search for the perfect solution. The specialist products, such as the keel bolt, were extremely successful. I hope I have the opportunity of working with Bufab Stainless again in the future."

To meet the really tough challenges the highest quality is required - in everything. Team EF equipped its Whitbread boats with the best, including fasteners exclusively from Bufab Stainless AB. The rewards were great: victory for the EF Language boat in the Whitbread Round the World Race and the attention of the whole world.

The Whitbread Round the World Race is the world’s longest and most prestigious ocean-going yacht race. Few other sporting events generate such worldwide media attention, making it particularly attractive for many major sponsors.

But the Whitbread race is also one of the toughest tests around for boat, equipment and crew. Success demands that all equipment is of extremely high quality. The Swedish language training company EF Education took two years to prepare its Whitbread entries (two boats, EF Language and EF Education).

Mikael Gustavsson from the technical consulting company Semcon was project manager during the construction of the boats and chose fasteners from Bufab Stainless.

Bufab Stainless supplied thousands of fasteners, both large and small, for the Team EF boats. The largest is the keel bolt – a 2 kg piece of stainless steel which holds the 8-tonne keel in place.

Mikael Gustavsson, project manager during the construction of the Team EF Whitbread boats, is extremely satisfied with Bufab Stainless as his supplier of fasteners.

Particularly as the deliveries were perfect despite tight deadlines.

We supplied some 30 different types of bolt and screw. What follows is Mikael’s report on Bufab Stainless as a supplier.

Product quality
"Sometimes the bolts are exposed to several tonnes of force. But I always had complete faith in the quality of the company’s products. I’ve used Bufab Stainless before and know that its products are some of the very best around."

Product development
"In a project like ours optimising weight is crucial. Nothing can be too long or too thick, which meant that Bufab Stainless had to manufacture some parts especially for us. We often supplied a clear drawing or specification of the part we wanted."

"But we also drew on the in-depth knowledge of the company and developed a number of fasteners in co-operation with Bufab Stainless. Not everyone could have delivered the keel bolt they produced."

Deliveries
"I was worried about only one thing during this project – time. There was an immense amount of time pressure involved in producing the parts. The order also contained a number of specialist, non-standard parts. But Bufab Stainless met all the deadlines. I’m impressed."

Products from Bufab Stainless AB Number of screw types: 168 Specialist products: M 39, a 2 kg keel bolt in ferrite/austenitic steel SAF 2205, 18 for each boat’s keel. M 24, a metre-long class 80 screw for fixing the keel, 16 for each boat. Steelquality: the majority acid-proof steel SS 14.2353. Other: thousands of stainless fasteners were supplied for the two EF boats.