There are few brands that have stood the test of time in the kitesurfing industry, and this one has been here from the start. With rapid growth and expansion over the past several years, F-ONE has shown that they're here to stay. Rou Chater heads over to Montpellier, France, to see what's happening behind the scenes of this impressive brand!

F-ONE is a brand that has been around since the very dawn of our sport. Launched in 1995 to sell windsurfing boards by Raphael Salles, they were the first brand to start selling kiteboards in 1998. If you've ever wondered about the brand name, Raph's racing sail number was F1, the number given to the number one ranked windsurfer in France of the time due to some small car organisation. There you have it, the short story of how F-ONE was born. 

The brand has been synonymous with some of our sport's most significant developments from its inception and has always been leading from the front. The Bandit was a groundbreaking and game-changing kite back in 2007 that propelled F-ONE to a global powerhouse within the kite industry. From being tethered to the moniker, "All We Do Is Kiteboarding", and pushing the Bandit as the only kite you will ever need, F-ONE has evolved into a completely different company in these modern days. 

In fact, the changes in the last four years are mind-blowing. My last visit to the offices in Montpellier was back in 2019 when wing foiling was just at the foundation stage, and there were a total of 20 people in the team. Just this week, my most recent visit saw F-ONE as arguably the biggest brand in the wing industry while remaining a major player in kiting. Manera has successfully penetrated the surf market, and the foiling arm of their division is in full swing too. Needless to say, things have changed a lot around here. 

The warehouse is stacked to the rafters with equipment ready to be shipped out, and the large space that looked "full" in 2019 has redefined the word full, and now doesn't have an inch that isn't being utilised. In addition, the team has doubled in size, with now just over 40 people in the office working to keep the brand at the top of their game. 

The team has grown at both Manera and F-ONE, and it's worth noting that the goal was always to do everything in-house, whether marketing, design, R&D, or operations. When you step into these offices, you see the entire crew behind the brand working on everything from new ideas to graphics and supplying the global market alongside everything in between. 

If you visit the F-ONE website, you'll clearly see the scale of operations these days, with ten kites in the range, six twin tips, nine surfboards, four foil boards and three dedicated kite foils. That's before you even scratch the surface of the wing, surf and SUP foil, and Manera divisions. It's incredibly impressive when you consider that the F-ONE products are among the most sought after and well-respected in terms of performance in the industry. To make one or two good products is tough, but to have industry-leading toys in every aspect of water sports is another level. 

That performance doesn't come easy. Raph has always been passionate about testing; he spends more time on the water than anyone I have ever met. And every session he is testing, I've never come across anyone with so much passion for developing new gear. Micka Fernandez joined him on the test team a while back, and now he also has Paul Serin and Jules Chollet helping him; this team contends with the testing and development of kites, wings, and foils.

 That passion for testing and development is driven not just by Raph's demanding tastes but also by the joy the team knows they inspire in others. Talking to them about the recent trip to the US for the AWSI event, both Julien and Raph recalled how fantastic it was to hear from the customers. When someone enjoys using an F-ONE product and gets that feeling of stoke we all love and enjoy, it really drives them to continue on this path of seeking perfection. And, of course, they love riding the gear too. Sharing passion is a key driving force here in Montpellier!

The whole development process at F-ONE always blows my mind a little. It's a relentless process that they have refined even more over the last few years. They now have two 3D printers and a CNC machine at headquarters, allowing them to quickly prototype on the spot. They can build foil prototypes in days, and from writing the testing notes to putting a new front wing in the water can take less than a week.

For the kites and wings, the testing notes go to the designer Robert Graham on a Sunday evening, and then he will make the changes to the CAD and send the request for new prototypes on a Monday. By Friday, Raph will have the new prototype in his hands, and the process will repeat over and over until they are 100% happy. When I say 100%, I mean it; the new Strike V3 was meant to be released in January, but it's being shipped the second week of April because Raph and the team want it to be absolutely perfect. 

That's rare in business. Deadlines and sales often designate the release dates of products. When it gets to the cut-off, the product that is ready on the day is what you buy in the shop. It's refreshing to see F-ONE polishing everything until they are totally happy and only then pushing the product into our hands. 

It's a process that has earned them a reputation of innovative products that just work right out of the bag. It's a testament that none of their foils needs shims or sanding or much messing about with. They have all been designed to work with the mast in the same position, with any rear stabiliser in the range. The idea being the less you have to muck around, the faster and easier it will be for you to progress. F-ONE already did all the tinkering, so you don't have to.

There is, of course, another step change at play here in Montpellier. Aside from the doubling in size of the brand with the explosion of wing and foiling, Raph is about to turn the big 6-0. It's been enlightening to hear him and Sophie, his wife and the brand Finance Director, talk about passing the baton to Julien, their son. 

F-ONE has always been a family brand; Raph and Sophie started it back in 1995, scavenging cardboard from the airport to ship boards around the world. With the birth of their children Camille and Julien, the question has been put to Julien since he was just six years old, "When are you going to take on the family business?" 

I've never really seen Raph ready to end his endless pursuit of perfection in every product he makes, but this trip has been different. Julien is already the Brand Manager not only for Manera which was always Julien's baby, but is also now the Brand Manager for F-ONE. Raph is busy grooming him for the job in hand, and much to Julien's protestations, he claims he's ready to pass the reigns to his son and retire sometime in the future. 

I side with Julien on this one; I just can't ever see Raph not being part of the test team. Maybe I can see him stepping back from the day-to-day operations and enjoying more time with Sophie, who also has a couple of proteges she is grooming to take over her role. I just think Raph loves the R&D side of the business so much that he'll never quite be able to tear himself away from it. 

Who knows what the future holds? Four years ago, I'd never have predicted that winging would become such a behemoth. I'd also never have put F-ONE as the brand to totally dominate the market. Yet, a quick look at the Readers Awards accolades shows just how well they have done. Raph says he saw it coming, and that's why he went all in - a new sport and a chance to dominate was his plan all along. One thing is for sure, it's always a pleasure to visit these guys in France, and I won't be leaving it for another four years before I come back…

 

By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!

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