Rolly Tasker Sails sold to German yachtsman

Rolly Tasker Sails, the Australian sailmaker whose products are now produced in Thailand, has been sold to German yachtsman Sven Cornelius.

A sailor since childhood, Cornelius was trained as a sailmaker by the late Rolly Tasker who founded the business 75 years ago. He has now bought the company from Rolly’s widow, Kerry Tasker, acting on a management buy-out option that the Tasker family had installed for him many years ago.

Despite the change in ownership, Rolly Tasker Sails will remain an individually owned private company, retaining close personal ties with the founder’s family. This in contrast to other major international sailmakers, who mostly belong to large corporations or investment firms.

“We are completely independent and make all our own choices and business decisions, and are only responsible to ourselves and our customers. We have all resources in-house and all these assets are the company’s property,” says Cornelius, a passionate yachtsman who has served as CEO of the company since 2016, and active in its management since 2010.

Rolly Tasker Sails is now driven by an enthusiastic team of young professionals determined to take the company to a new level, yet within the founder’s original vision. “This is a challenge that all of us at Rolly Tasker Sails are happy to take on,” Cornelius says. “Moving the company into the future while at the same time retaining our roots, which is to provide top quality sails for truly affordable prices to our customers.”

Sail designs, materials and fabrics may change over the decades, but this principle will remain at the core of Rolly Tasker Sails, says Cornelius.