Sometimes tradition has more power than you know. When Yoshi and Simon Takashina’s grandfather, Tadayoshi, started making life jackets in Japan back in the 1930s little did he know that his grandsons and their American mother Dorothy would start a company in Boston in 1991 making PFDs for paddling a canoe, kayak, or raft. Those years of experience have helped make MTI one of the best paddlesport brands in America. We are a small company still owned by the Takashina family, and now managed by Gordon Colby - former product manager for Voyageur and Mad River Canoe - and his experienced team based in southern Massachusetts near Cape Cod. They oversee all aspects of the MTI brand, from product design, Coast Guard approvals, and production in a modern factory in Shanghai that is owned by the Takashina family. The sales, marketing and distribution headquarters are located in Plympton, Massachusetts – just a stones throw from THE ROCK in Plymouth.

With dealers across the country, MTI is deeply committed to supplying product to specialty paddlesports and outdoor retailers across the country, and constantly strives to offer customers exceptional product features and quality at great value.

It’s a tradition that makes us who we are.