AWARDS 2021 | Best Helm Seating Supplier – Norsap

Best Helm Seating Supplier – Norsap

Kristiansand, Norway-based marine seating specialist Norsap is globally renowned for its safe, comfortable and ergonomically excellent pilot or helm chairs. The chairs can have steering and throttle controls built in and are infinitely adjustable to accommodate every imaginable kind of human occupant and every sea condition.

In recent months, Baird Maritime has noticed Norsap chairs fitted in the wheelhouses of well-equipped new trawlers, pilot boats, patrol boats and landing craft in Spain, Scotland, Norway and the United States. These seats are everywhere and in every kind of vessel.

“Our goal is to produce high-quality, practical, comfortable chairs,” Norsap told Baird Maritime. “We typically see these in workboats because they are comfortable and effortless to maintain to make sure they last for decades.”

The company also credits its in-house R&D team with accommodating feedback from customers who require modifications to the standard chairs to fit their needs.

“We believe quality, comfort, and cost sum up to be the perfect combination for our customers. We get a lot of customers with different unique requirements for their chairs, and some of these custom modifications get passed on to the next revision of the given chair.”

The company added that before this coming summer, it will introduce a new range of products that were developed based on earlier customers’ requirements.

“Business is good,” Norsap replied when asked how it fared in 2021. “We are still a healthy company with a strong balance sheet and highly skilled and loyal employees. There has been a natural dip due to lockdowns and supply chains for shipbuilders worldwide, but we believe some of these delays can also be more visible further ahead.”

Norsap said it had its “all-time high” in 2018, an achievement that the company claims is challenging to beat considering the pandemic and various lockdowns and delays in the supply chain that have characterised the last few years.

“Our yachting segment had a surprisingly good gain compared to earlier years, such as seat and table pedestals. So it’s not unthinkable to see new products in this segment in the future.”

Upcoming product offerings also cover several new segments compared to before. These products include the Norsap 150 Performance – a new shock-mitigating chair developed and designed to be a dedicated chair for a defined market segment – the Norsap 500 ECO passenger seats for economy class sections, and the 4000 Agile, which makes it possible for an operator to sit or stand without leaving the chair or controls.

“The 4000 Agile is perfect for long days where the demand for focus and precision is vital to get the job done,” Norsap told Baird Maritime.

The company sees the marine seating industry begin to adopt a lower threshold for integrating more equipment in the chairs, even in smaller boats.

“We believe this is because we, as a chair manufacturer, can offer more easily and quickly adapt and integrate what the customer wants, from bridge consoles to the chairs. This ensures that the user enjoys a better working environment and meets several requirements within HSE regulations.”

Norsap believes that HSE requirements and users are given greater importance today compared to years past, and this importance will only increase in the future.

For a list of the 2021 “Best Of” award winners, please click here.