History
Early Years
Jürgen Kaschper, founder and owner of Levator Boatworks Limited, was introduced to rowing and boat building from infancy. In 1972 at the age of 16 he began his formal training at Kaschper Racing Shells, under the direction of his father, Jakob.
During his development Jürgen was given the combined responsibility of constructing wooden singles and doubles. The repair and general maintenance of shells of all sizes were also part of his daily duties.
In 1974 Dr. Phil Fitz-James, then head coach of the U.W.O. and Western Rowing Club, influenced Jürgen to row competitively.
As an oarsmen Jürgen participated as often as his responsibilities permitted. His most memorable experience was rowing in the 1977 Western Junior Heavy Eight, to win the Montebello Marathon, a 42.5 mile race held on the Ottawa River. Competing in many crews over several years Jürgen came to know the ideals of rowing and the worth of building racing shells.
Levator Boatworks is Launched
During the 1980's many changes and pressures came to traditional shell building. In 1983, Jürgen took a leave of absence from the family business to gain experience with fibreglass yacht construction at local boatyards. Here insights were gained into fibreglass construction techniques in an alternate industry. Soon after Jürgen established the fledgling Kaschper Repair Services in 1985. Space was provided in the Lucan factory and renovations were made to accommodate a full time repair shop. The new arrangement opened a new perspective for Jürgen. Growth in the repair business soon outpaced the available space in the Lucan workshop. In 1989 a 6,000 sq. ft. facility was designed and built in London, Ontario which served as the operational home for the Kaschper Repair Centre. Jürgen's boat repair service continued as he ventured into developing his own set of manufactured product . Jürgen this relaunched the Kaschper Repair Centre as Levator Boatworks Limited in 1994, with the advent of the first boats being built. The 767 Industrial Road facility became the crucible where the present Levator shells were developed over the next 13 year period.
The company's product line has expanded over time to reflect changes in boat building technologies and client needs. The most popular boats that Levator builds are the Racers – the Standard RACER, designed for clubs and it's stronger, faster, lighter variant the Personal RACER, designed for individuals that want even greater performance. The Torque and LIGHT were developed in the late 1990s as elite level racers, to push the envelope in boat building technology and design. Levator also returned to Jürgen's heritage by bringing back the wooden boat, redesigning wooden classics in the VAK shell and Legacy, and new innovative wooden composite boats in the Excellence and Flight models. The most recent addition to the family line is the BASIC, created as a high-quality yet affordable racer.
Along the way, Levator's creative abilty has been applied to successfully design and construct oars as well as other types of boats including canoes, kayaks, windboards, sailboats, and floatplane floats. However, it is the racing shell that remains the boat of choice at Levator.
New Horizons
In 2007 the company moved production facilities to Dorchester, Ontario, just outside London. This new facility is not only more efficient but closer to home for Jürgen, which reduces his commuting time, allows more time to work on his boats. The new location also brings him closer to Lake Erie where he is able to spend more time on the water to explore new opportunities in boat design.