RIGBY Technologies Corporation was created by Mike Lloyd and Sean Brown to transform rope supply in the US and Canadian markets.
RIGBY manufactures high quality standard, custom, and bespoke rope & cordage for Marine and Industrial trade customers, making rope supply simple with fast lead times and modern transaction technology.
Mike & Sean are longtime ropemakers who in 2020 launched RIGBY as a new brand, having acquired two small rope companies and moved into a new production facility. The RIGBY Mission is to create a comprehensive range of professional grade marine and industrial products with a high level of customization available to the rope user, and delivered to the trade quickly, with a high degree of ease in the transaction.
The operational strategy is simple. By manufacturing in Canada, locating in the central hub of Toronto, using advanced equipment and methods, and embracing modern communication and transaction technology, RIGBY becomes both the rope of choice for the end user and the supplier of choice for the trades.
More SKUs and States are coming online every week. By the end of 2020, marine dealers, boatbuilders, and industrial accounts across North America will will be enjoying the industry's fastest delivery.
Trade accounts can order directly at rigbytechnologies.com, enjoy their trade pricing, and receive their rope, fast, while being assured that it was built with decades of ropemaking expertise backing it.
Mike & Sean thank you for your business!
How we got here
In the 1960s, Gordon and Barbara Brown were building a new 40' Schooner, which was named The Rigby. The family name goes back to Gordon's grandfather, Elmer Rigby, who was a boatbuilder in New Brunswick, Canada, in the 1920s. Gord & Barb intended to race her, and that meant braided ropes for the running rigging. They found there was no Canadian manufacturer of braided ropes.
Gordon had no background in textiles...just memories of a relative's textile mill in New England, as a child. What he did have was extensive knowledge of mechanical design from his days as a race car driver, and a creative mind.
He partnered with a shoelace manufacturer who had braiders, and cut a deal with the owner: I'll design the rope, you manufacture it, and I'll sell it. It worked well for years, until the owner retired. When he did, Gordon set out on his own. In 1973, he founded G.W.B. Rope & Twine, which within a decade was one of North America's leading braided rope manufacturer, with hundreds of machines and capacity for braids from 1/32" to 6". Along the way, his son Sean worked in the factory, and could run every machine in the building before he was a teen.
In 1985 GWB expanded into net manufacturing, when Gordon redesigned bowrail netting for the all-new 1985 Ford Taurus. That transformed the company. Unfortunately, Gordon suffered a foot injury that disabled him, and he sold the company from a hospital bed.
In 1990, his son Sean Rigby Brown, now grown, entered the ropemaking business and founded several new rope companies in three countries. Sean also became a leading rope designer in his own right, creating innovative new designs in marine, industrial, and mountain climbing.
In 1997, Redpoint Ropes was founded by Sean Brown and Mike Lloyd. The company specialized in braided ropes up to 3/4" and was immediately successful. Years later, the company was sold, and Mike and Sean both ended up furthering their education.
Fast forward to 2019, both Mike and Sean had kept a toe in the water, in ropemaking, but had primarily focused on other ventures. They then saw an opportunity, and ulitmately Redpoint Ropes was re-acquired by its original founders!
In spring 2020, the new manufacturing facility was up and running, with additional machinery, additional inventory, and engineering improvements already in place.