The International Laser Class Association (ILCA) is pleased to announce that Qingdao Zou Inter Marine has been approved as a Builder of class-legal boats. The company has successfully completed the detailed builder certification process and has received approval from both the ILCA and World Sailing technical departments to undertake production.
About Zou Inter Marine
Qingdao Zou Inter Marine (ZOU), is a professional One Design Class dinghy builder based in China, as well as the first licensed Optimist builder in China who started the first optimist production in 1989.
“The ZOU team is driven by a passion for dinghy sailing; it has fueled the company’s success for more than two decades and provides the foundation that will direct our future achievements in building superior quality racing boats. Our production facilities help us achieve our mission by spending a great amount of time and care in the production of each boat. Our over thirty-year experiences allow us to ensure that our boats are built to the highest standards possible. This exceptional attention to detail, using the finest materials available, results in an extremely high quality product at a more favorable price to the consumer.”
Zou Inter Marine has produced and is now distributing their first batch of boats complete with World Sailing plaques — meaning these boats are legal for all class-sanctioned events including world and Olympic qualifiers. As with all ILCA approved builders, boats will be manufactured from moulds made from ILCA master tooling and will be built in strict compliance with the standards and specifications of the class Build Manual.
Approval of Zou Inter Marine comes in accordance with World Sailing’s Olympic Equipment Policy, which states that any interested and qualified manufacturer must have the opportunity to become a builder of Olympic equipment. To comply with this policy the International Laser Class boats built by Zou Inter Marine and other new manufacturers will be sold under the ILCA brand in order to allow builders to sell boats in any part of the world without trademark restrictions.