Zodiac Nautic is a French company known for their inflatable boats. Originating as an airship company, [1] the boating division was split off from the aerospace-focused Zodiac Group in 2007. [1]
In France, "zodiac" has become a genericized trademark for an inflatable boat. [2] [3] [1]
Zodiac originated with the Société française de ballons dirigeables et d’aviation Zodiac (Zodiac airships and aviation French company), which specialized in the production of airships. In the late 1930s, one of its engineers, Pierre Debroutelle, invented one of the first prototypes of inflatable boats. In 1937, the Aéronavale, the French Naval Air Force, commissioned several boats from Zodiac. [4] The company started marketing to the general public in 1949. Zodiac received publicity in late 1952 after Alain Bombard made a crossing of the Atlantic in a production model of a Zodiac inflatable boat called L'Hérétique. [4] [1] [5]
The company eventually stopped using materials for balloon production after the creation of synthetic nylon fabrics better suited for inflatable boats in the late 1950s. [1]
Zodiac opened a temporary workshop in Courbevoie, expanded its already established factories and increased its workforce which allowed the company to begin producing 17 boats a day. [1]
In the 1960s, the company turned to the leisure industry to accommodate vacationers. [6] Zodiac boats were brought into the mainstream in the late 1960s as Jacques Cousteau equipped his Calypso with several of Zodiac's boats. [4] [5]
In 2007, the company sold its boating division to American investment fund Carlyle, [1] leaving behind the aeronautics division Zodiac Aerospace, which was absorbed into Safran in 2018. [1]
After encountering financial troubles, the boating company was again sold to private owners in 2015. [7] [8]
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