Haas Automation (www.HaasCNC.com) has been selected as the official machine tool supplier to Ineos Team UK, the British challenger for the America’s Cup.

The Portsmouth-based team is making an unprecedented effort to win the trophy for Britain for the first time; it includes Sir Ben Ainslie as team principal and skipper, four-times winner Grant Simmer as CEO, and Nick Holroyd — the man who brought foiling to the America’s Cup — as head of the design team.

The 2021 America’s Cup will be contested in New Zealand with Ineos Team UK representing Royal Yacht Squadron Racing, which issued the challenge to the current holder, Emirates Team New Zealand.

Ineos’s (www.ineos.com) decision to choose Haas Automation was based on reputation, performance and the company’s ability to support the machines with its world-wide network.

The team has invested in a Haas TM-1P toolroom mill and a TL-1 tool-room lathe.

Once the yacht’s development work has been completed in Portsmouth, the Haas machines will be shipped to New Zealand along with the rest of the team’s equipment and spares.

Haas director James Leet said: “Haas has a tremendous track record in the marine industry on the South coast.

“In the last 12 months, two other major players in the industry have chosen to plot a course with Haas: Ocean Yacht Systems and most recently Lewmar Marine, which has invested in a five-machine package.”