Riken Rafts

NRS & Riken Rafts

In 2000, NRS purchased the assets of B & A Distributing, Portland, Oregon. Part of this acquisition included the distribution rights to the Riken brand of whitewater inflatables.

Over the next two years we worked with Riken, based in Japan, to change construction methods and standardize the manufacturing process. After considerable effort, and with the agreement of the Okamoto parent company, we moved the manufacturing of Riken rafts to our factory in Tecate, Mexico.

By that time, we’d recognized that the Riken patterns needed some changes to better blend with our work flow; so we rebuilt the patterns to computer-aided design (CAD) specifications. We also made adjustments in shape, angles and sizes to match our efficient manufacturing procedures. We introduced Pennel Orca® materials, Clifton Hypalon adhesives and new assembly processes to integrate the boats into the exacting NRS boat manufacturing standards.

The end result is that all Riken patterns are now quite literally NRS patterns, built off the original Riken products. Take a look at these great boats!