Hallberg-Rassy yacht history - two shipyards join together
Hallberg-Rassy: Harry Hallberg (1914-1997) began to develop and build wooden boats at the age of 14. In 1943 he opened his own shipyard in Kungsviken, on the island of Orust off the west coast of Sweden. The first ships built as a series were the Folkeboot and Kungskryssaren. In 1963, Hallberg was among the pioneers of fiberglass boat construction.
Christoph Rassy grew up on Lake Starnberg in Bavaria and learned how to build boats in a small shipyard in southern Germany. In 1962 he set off on his bicycle to live in Nötesund, on the island of Orust in Sweden. During the day he built boats for a shipyard, in the evenings he built his own, which he sold for a profit. It was pure coincidence that at the same time the leading boat builder in the area opened a new shipyard. This boat builder was Harry Hallberg. In the mid-60s the shipyard at Kungsviken had become too small and he had decided to expand. He built a new shipyard in Ellös, ten kilometres southwest on the island of Orust - and Rassy bought the old building, but not the company.
In the years between 1965 and 1972, the two companies of theHallberg-Rassy were in direct competition. However, in 1972 Harry Hallberg decided to retire. Cristoph Rassy wanted to expand and bought Hallberg's Varvsindustri (Harry Hallberg's Shipyard Industry) - both the building and the company. Because Hallberg was much larger and better known in the market, Rassy chose to use the name Hallberg-Rassy. Harry Hallberg and Christoph Rassy have never worked together!
Hallberg-Rassy today - 13,630 square meters of professional workmanship
Hallberg-Rassy has always specialised in the construction of sea-worthy cruising yachts. Today, Hallberg-Rassy yachts are one of the most popular sailing boats across the globe. The dealer network extends from Europe to USA to Japan and Australia.
The Rassy family own 100 percent of the company. Since 2003 Hallberg-Rassy as been managed by Christoph Rassy's son, Magnus Rassy. Today Hallberg-Rassy's bestselling boat is the Hallberg-Rassy 310. A total of 8900 Hallberg-Rassy yachts have been built to date, of which 2900 were designed by the top designer Frers.
The headquarters of "Hallberg-Rassy Varv" are located in Ellös, an hour north of Gothenburg. The shipyard now covers an area of 13,630 square meters. The plastic work is carried out by the company's own subsidiary "Hallberg-Rassy Marineplast", which is located in Kungshamn, an hour north of the shipyard. The plastics company works exclusively for the shipyard.
