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History
From humble beginnings, CTS has cherished a following of avid anglers and rod-builders from across the globe. Stephen Pratt started CTS with a passion and dedication for creating the absolute best fishing rod blanks in the world. From the beginning CTS has invested more in research and development, production tooling and materials research, than any other operation. This tradition of excellence has been recognised by rod builders and anglers the world over, and it is a tradition that continues to drive CTS.
ESTABLISHED 1999
Stephen Pratt was not long out of Massey University, where he studied a Bachelor of Technology. He had been working as a production and design manager at a company that made fishing rods, blanks and other composite equipment where his interest in rod composite technology began. He saw an opportunity to create his own company that was dedicated to advancing rod composite technologies. In 1999 he set off on his own, imported used machinery from Long Island, NY and established Composite Tube Systems in Auckland, New Zealand.
2000 – 2005
From the beginning CTS established a reputation for creating world class fishing rod blanks and for doing things differently. Through word of mouth and the help of advertising on the very popular rodbuilding.org, news quickly spread among rod builders about a new rod blank manufacturer from New Zealand. Eager to get their hands on a CTS blank, most exports were of the Affinity series carbon fly rod blank and Elite Tournament Blank (now Elite MagSpin) to the Australian market, followed quickly by the US market. Clients included both small rod builders and large fishing rod brands that wanted CTS as their rod blank. No other manufacturer allowed the amount of customisation to the rod blank configuration like CTS. Custom rod builders rejoiced.
In 2003 the first series of fibreglass fly rod blanks was introduced, the Quartz. It was based on the industry standard woven E-glass. This was the first iteration of a rod series that would later see the pioneering of new rod material technologies out of New Zealand. The Affinity series carbon fly rod blank underwent a power-up in taper and was renamed the Affinity Plus. It continued to be the most popular selling rod in the CTS range.
2006 – 2010
Production volume continued to grow and the need for a larger factory lead CTS to relocate one suburb across to Birkenhead, Auckland, also offering views of the Waitematā Harbour. Continuing a tradition of incorporating modern and advanced technology, CTS computerised all production systems with in-house designed and built production management software. A new taller rod oven was designed and built in-house, opening up the opportunity to make longer rods. The first rods from the new oven were 13ft 1pc surf rods headed across the Tasman Sea to the Australian market.
This paved the way for CTS to release their first surf series, the Makoi – specifically designed for a customer in Hawaii. This model had a glass tip, which was standard for surf rods at the time. Soon after, the S8 was introduced – a full 100% carbon surf rod blank, based on the same action as the Makoi. In 2010 the S7 was introduced, it was more refined with a smoother action. Initial feedback included nothing but praise, and the S7 quickly became a staple in the CTS line up and amongst surf casters.
The Quartz series underwent refinements and was now made from unidirectional E-glass with a glass scrim, allowing translucent finishes and creating a lighter, stiffer and more responsive blank.
In 2007 CTS introduced Modulus Replacement Technology. Instead of wrapping different materials over the top of each other which is standard practice, Modulus Replacement Technology simply removes material from one part of the rod and replaces it with another. This better matches the elongation properties of the fibres.
Demand continued to grow in the US and abroad, and in 2006 CTS began what would become an annual journey to the International Custom Rod Building Expo in Winston-Salem, NC.
2011 – 2015
The reputation of CTS creating world class rod tapers is solidified as fly casting competitors used CTS rods to win competitions and break records across the globe. Niklas Eriksson from the Swedish National Team took out 2nd place in the Sea Trout Distance at the World Championships, Fred Giran took gold at the 2014 French Casting Championships and Tellis Katsogiannos broke the Swedish 18′ spey casting record.
This period once again saw CTS relocate to a new and bigger factory in Birkenhead, Auckland. The Quartz series evolved and went from being made from E-glass material with a glass scrim to a unidirectional S-glass material. Further refinements were made with the Super Low Resin System, helping create an extremely light yet strong fibreglass material and bringing the CTS Quartz series to the forefront of fibreglass technology.
The Affinity Plus was renamed the Affinity X, as successive innovations and refinements were added. The G3 Design Philosophy was introduced, aligning CTS rods with the Common Cents system which seeks to standardise rod action across different manufacturers. CTS revolutionised their rod painting system from the ground up, with an in-house designed and built proprietary rod painting system that utilises computer automation to lay a precise coat of paint.
2016 – 2017
CTS continued its pursuit of incorporating advanced technologies into rod production with the purchase of a digital cutting machine and a digital wrapping machine. This shifted all flag cutting from manual to digital, reducing the amount of wastage of material and creating more accurate and consistently cut flags. The new digital wrapping machine lead to the development of the CTS proprietary Helix2 technology. Now longer and larger blanks contained two helical carbon cores instead of a single core – creating a blank that was lighter and stronger than before, and pushing the boundaries of fibre to resin ratios.
The Quartz range got a significant upgrade with the introduction of CrystalGlass™, an extremely high grade uni-directional S-Glass with amazing clarity. All Quartz rods were now made from CrystalGlass™, offering the highest strength and response-to-weight ratios of any glass rod on the market.
2018
Competitive anglers continued to choose CTS rods to compete and Sergey Gatesenko took Gold for distance casting in the third stage of the All-Russian Fly Casting Tournament on a CTS Competition Cast 10’.
Stephen Pratt was inducted into the Rod Smith’s Guild with the distinction of Master Designer / Maker, naming Stephen Pratt and CTS alongside the greatest expert rod designers in the world.
Gen II CrystalGlass™ was introduced, seeing further refinements to the Quartz series with an increase of 12% in modulus strength, keeping the CTS Quartz range at the forefront of fibreglass rod technology.
The first studio built fly rod was introduced, the special collection Affinity X. Using only premium components and hand wrapped at the Auckland factory, anglers for the first time were able to order a built fly rod directly from CTS.
2019
CrystalCoat™ was introduced – a rod wrapping finish based on an entirely new type of chemistry. A finish unlike before, with unrivalled clarity, bubble inhibition and the ability to alter hardness of the finish by varying the ratio of hardener to resin.
2020
We merged our CTS and Maven rod companies for greater efficiencies and to support the growth of our finished rods division.
The team now builds an extensive selection of saltwater rods – casting, spinning and specialist rods, along with our stunning MISSION collection of fly rods.
Simplicity, refined styling, attention to detail and hand craftsmanship – combined with advanced technology – are the hallmarks of a Maven rod.
