INTERNATIONAL R&D TEAM
Gathering Top Industry Experts to Support Sino Eagle's Global Strategy
Sino Eagle has gathered over 30 top boat experts from countries including Germany, the USA, Slovenia, Poland, Australia, Italy, and others.
Klaus Filter
International Rowing Master — The "Godfather of Rowing" Crafted with 70 Years of Craftsmanship
In 1995, when German rowing master Klaus Filter first stepped into Fuyang, Hangzhou, China's rowing industry was still in its infancy of "imitation" and "catching up." It was this "living fossil" with over 70 years of industry experience who, as technical director, took charge of Fly Eagle. With his unique vision and concepts, he elevated the "small workshop" to the world stage — the "Invincible" series rowing boats he designed became legendary as "gold medal makers," winning the most medals in world sports history. They were the official boats for four consecutive Olympic Games (Athens, Beijing, London, Brazil) and Asian Games. As a recipient of the International Rowing Federation's "Lifetime Achievement Award," Klaus fused German precision manufacturing with Chinese craftsmanship in every hull curve: his optimized hydrodynamic design greatly increased boat speed, and improved carbon fiber composite technology reduced weight while multiplying strength. Under his leadership, Fly Eagle transformed from an "imitator" to a "rule maker," making the "Invincible" brand a golden card for Chinese rowing on the world stage. The Chinese government honored this extraordinary international master with the "National Friendship Award" and "West Lake Friendship Award." The Beijing Olympic flame paused for him, and Hangzhou bestowed upon him the title of "Honorary Citizen" — he proved with his lifetime that true craftsmanship transcends borders, making "Made in China" shine on the global arena!
Alexander Raas
Catamaran Pioneer
Mr. Lex is known in the global yacht industry as the "Pioneer of Catamarans," with 50 years of rich experience in yacht design and development, company management, and controlling yacht development trends. He is recognized as one of the world leaders in the catamaran yacht sector. He has served as Technical Manager at the world's largest yacht manufacturing company—France's Beneteau, and as CEO of TUI Marine Yacht Rental Company under the global Fortune 500 TUI Group. In 2012, he joined the world's largest yacht sales company—MarineMax in the USA as Executive President, formulating the technical strategic plan for catamaran power yachts for Sino Eagle Yachts. His precise grasp of industry technology development trends and market demands has kept AQUILA products technologically advanced and competitive, securing AQUILA a place in the international catamaran power yacht market share.
David William Thomas
David William Thomas, male, 47 years old, American, joined Fly Eagle in 2004 as senior engineer. A pioneer of cross-disciplinary innovation in rowing technology, he specializes in composite materials, innovating carbon fiber prepreg rowing boat manufacturing processes, and breaking through high-temperature carbon fiber mold forming technology, pushing product performance to the highest international competition standards. He led the team to overcome bottlenecks in carbon fiber prepreg production processes, using a 125-degree molding solution with carbon fiber molds combined with unidirectional carbon fiber prepreg and woven carbon fiber multi-angle reinforced multidimensional weaving design, solving technical challenges of lightweight, high strength, and fatigue resistance for boat hulls and parts, significantly reducing product defect rates. Product performance and all test indicators fully meet national standards and exceed international advanced levels. He also expanded recreational kayak business and established modular production lines. Over 20 years at Fly Eagle, he has won Hangzhou Science and Technology Awards and Zhejiang "West Lake Friendship Award." He cultivated the company's technical team, facilitating collaboration between Chinese and American technology centers, writing a multinational legend of "Made in China" advancing globally!
Edward John Hofmeister
Edward John Hofmeister, male, 50 years old, American, joined Fly Eagle in 2004 as senior engineer. He is the strong technical support behind Olympic rowing, redesigning rowing boat manufacturing with cutting-edge aircraft design concepts. Under his leadership, new prepreg hulls, carbon fiber wing oar frames, carbon fiber pedal systems, and carbon fiber sliding seat systems were developed, overcoming the challenge of fully watertight prepreg hulls that do not sink and feature self-draining systems during gliding. The "Invincible" rowing boat series he led became the only "Chinese Famous Brand" in Chinese rowing, consecutively supporting four Olympic Games (Athens, Beijing, London, Brazil) and two Asian Games (Incheon, Jakarta), with domestic and international athletes winning over 300 medals. He led the upgrade of recreational kayak technology, breaking the monopoly of the European and American markets. For his outstanding contributions, Eddie Hofmeister received the Zhejiang "West Lake Friendship Award" and Hangzhou "Fuchun Distinguished Expert" titles, forging the international gold medal path of Chinese rowing with technology!
Jean Pierre Raas
Jean Pierre Raas, male, 47 years old, American, senior expert in the yacht industry. With over 20 years of deep industry experience, he is familiar with the entire process of yacht design, manufacturing, sales, and operation, accurately grasping yacht development trends with keen industry insight. Since becoming General Manager of Aquila USA and Chief Product Officer of AQUILA in 2011, he has efficiently collaborated with clients and design firms, strictly controlling R&D project milestones to ensure timely and high-quality delivery of design information to the R&D team; successfully built professional technical and service teams, earning high customer recognition with excellent after-sales service; and excelled in ensuring delivery schedules, quality, and cost control. He continuously promotes yacht R&D innovation, helping AQUILA catamaran power yachts maintain industry leadership. He also actively promotes shared R&D resources, advancing Chinese yacht brands into the international market and creating globally competitive industry benchmarks.
Jure Zule
Jure Zule, male, 43 years old, Slovenian, joined the yacht company in 2017 as chief designer. He is a renowned European yacht design expert with 18 years of yacht design and project management experience. He joined the company to help complete 13 new yacht products, striving to secure a position in the catamaran power segment. Among them, the 70-foot catamaran luxury power yacht was recognized by Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology as the "First Set Product of Zhejiang Equipment Manufacturing Industry" and the "6th Zhejiang Industrial Award." The A54 catamaran power yacht won the "Global Best Multihull Yacht Award," the Aquila 41 catamaran power yacht won the "2024 European Powerboat" award, and the Aquila 47 Molokai series fishing boat was praised by Sport Fishing magazine as one of the world's largest, newest, most vertically integrated, and environmentally friendly yacht products. The company was awarded the "High-Quality Development Award" at the China Yacht Awards. For his outstanding contributions, Jure received the Zhejiang "West Lake Friendship Award," forging the international path of Chinese yachts with technology!
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Address：No. 81 Golf Road, Yinhu Street, Fuyang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province
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