Side-Power bow and stern thrusters have been around since the 1980s and are installed on hundreds of thousands boats around the world. The name “Side-Power” has always been an English-language brand name for the Norwegian company Sleipner Motor. In fact, if you’ve ever owned a Side-Power thruster, or seen a motor, you may have noticed “Sleipner Motor AS” printed on the bottom of the front page of the owner’s manual, as well as on a tag on the motor itself.
Sleipner was founded in 1908 and spent their first 60 years primarily as a motor manufacturer for fishing and leisure vessels. When they pivoted to being primarily a bow & stern thruster manufacturer in the 1980s, they introduced the Side-Power brand as a direct reference to the function of a thruster, propelling the boat side-to-side. The name is perfectly fitted to a thruster manufacturer, but as they have expanded their product offering over time with stabilizer fin systems, hydraulic systems and steering systems, the name didn’t quite fit everything they have to offer.
In Norway, the name “Sleipner” was synonymous with reliable motors for decades before they rebranded to Side-Power and focused primarily on thrusters. So early in 2021 they decided to go back to their roots and rebrand as “Sleipner” to get away from a name specific to just one product line of the many that they offer. While the logo and packaging may be changing, the top-notch engineering, quality and reliability that they are known for will remain the exact same. The rebranding exercise also opens the door for future developments and further expansion of their product offering.
With the rebranding also comes a new slogan: “Ocean born. Tech bred.” With over 100 years of manufacturing reliable systems for pleasure and commercial craft alike, Sleipner has always been at the forefront of technological development in the marine industry, and they plan to continue that legacy for the next 100 years and beyond.