Rehabilitating Rocna: The tarnished anchor brand gets polished under a new owner

By Michael Verdon, IBI News

A year ago, the highly polished image of the Rocna anchor brand was being tarnished in sailing chatrooms across multiple time zones. The patented design, popular among sailors around the world, had come in for a public drubbing by both consumers and competitors because of allegations that Rocna had used steel in the fabrication of the anchors shanks that did not meet the stated manufacturing specification. Photos showed up on the sailing websites of Rocna anchors with twisted shanks. Some were genuine pictures of warranty claims while others were of a more questionable origin.

Competitors also jumped into the fray, alleging Hold Fast Anchors, the New Zealand-based corporation that held the manufacturing rights to Rocna brand from January 2007 to September 2011, knew about the weaker grade of steel used in manufacturing after it moved production from New Zealand to China...

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The Rocna Anchors lifetime warranty has been expanded to include bending or deformation, in addition to breakage, in a new warranty policy.  It applies to the lifetime of the original purchaser when the anchor is sized appropriately for the boat, using Rocna's sizing recommendations.

"Many companies warranty against breakage, but we're so confident in Rocna's rugged design that we protect against manufacturing defects and bending.  An anchor is vital safety equipment, and we give our customers peace of mind their Rocna will perform as promised," said John Mitchell, president of Canada Metal (Pacific) Ltd.  The company recently acquired the Rocna manufacturing license.

Canada Metal (Pacific) has also expanded its successful relationship with independent rep firm Derema Group, appointing them to manage US sales and distribution of Rocna Anchors.  Derema Group covers the marine and outdoor markets nationwide, and has managed Canada Metal (Pacific)'s marine aftermarket sales in the US for more than five years.  Canada Metal (Pacific) is a world-leading producer of CMP chain, Martyr marine anodes, Octopus marine autopilot drive systems and Intellisteer remote steering systems.

The President of Canada Metal has issued a memorandum to Rocna customers concerning brand confidence.

Memorandum:

To: Rocna Customers, Distributors and Retailers
From: John Mitchell (President), Canada Metal (Pacific) Limited
Subject: Re-establish Rocna Brand Confidence.

Priority Initiatives:

• Find and Replace any Suspect Product
• Add Additional Controls to the existing Production process.
• Restore confidence in the Classification process.
• Invest in Inventory to ensure timely delivery.
• Establish Timely and Accurate Communications.

Please view the memorandum on the Canada Metal website (PDF, 18 KB).