Behind the sponsorship

VELUX is the main sponsor of the single-handed round-the-world ocean race, which is therefore now known as VELUX 5 OCEANS. The decision to choose ocean racing, and one of the toughest races in the sport at that, is seen as being a perfect match to VELUX core values – daylight and fresh air.
 
Sailing has just as much to do with daylight and fresh air as VELUX roof windows do – it is also very much about healthy competition. Sailing around the world alone is only for the very best; and we see a parallel here – we believe our products have something in common with the VELUX 5 OCEANS skippers.
 
VELUX 5 OCEANS provides an opportunity for VELUX to give employees and their families around the world an insight into a different world full of passion and adventure, but also a world where the values of VELUX are highly represented. The commitment to constant improvement of products is the foundation for VELUX success. At a recent visit by VELUX 5 OCEANS skipper Mike Golding and his boat Ecover to Horsens in Denmark, employees from the nearby factories could hear the skipper speak about his commitment to create the perfect boat using the most advanced technologies and without ever compromising quality. Building a boat which has to withstand the extremes of nature is close to what VELUX employees do, when they develop, test and produce new windows which - day in and day out - have to withstand the forces of nature. 

Internally, VELUX is using the sponsorship to bind its employees in 40 countries all over the world closer together – they will have the opportunity of following the exciting race as closely as possible.
 
"We really want to give our employees a chance to feel closer to the race and the expectations we have of VELUX 5 OCEANS when the starting gun is fired at Bilbao," says Michael K. Rasmussen, Group Communications Manager.
 
Although you will not exactly be on board, you will be able to follow very closely from the sidelines via TV and the Internet. Once you have met and spoken with a skipper, you have a much deeper understanding of, and can identify more with, what he is up to out on the ocean after the race starts.