If you have visited our location in Houston recently, you may have seen a moving behemoth of black and silver made largely of aircraft-grade aluminum. This mysterious machine is actually our newest stringing machine, the Wilson Baiardo. It is a funny name for a serious device, so why would Wilson choose such an eccentric moniker for their product?

Interestingly, the name originates from the Medieval and Renaissance Legend, Bayard, the swiftest horse in existence that also had another unique ability to alter its own size according to its rider, making the upcoming trip as comfortable as possible. So how could that possibly relate to a stringing machine? It’s all in the features that are unique to the Baiardo in comparison to other high-end electronic machines.

When Wilson first started developing the machine, they began on the assumption that the typical pieces, the mounting, clamping, and tensioning systems had evolved to a point where there were no innovative improvements to be made. With this in mind, they chose to focus instead on the experience and movement of the stringer, utilizing motion studies on many individuals of different sizes and they determined that many stringers are doing so in frequently uncomfortable positions.

That’s when the decision to really start from the ground up and focus on making something truly unique, and in order to do this, they focused on the person operating the machine instead of the individual components of the machine. This does not mean that they short-changed quality on the main components; it simply means that they relied on tried and true features without too much regard to advancement.

The best way to understand what makes the Baiardo unique is to watch it in action or to experience it firsthand. In fact, best is the only way to describe the unique setting that many stringers choose to use. This setting is called B.E.S.T., which stands for Biomechanically Efficient Stringing Technology, and essentially means that after inputting the user’s height, the machine determines three distinct height and table tilt angles that are designed to be the most comfortable placement for each user.

With the machine constantly in action, anything the machine can do to make for a more comfortable experience for our stringers is appreciated by our staff. So if it is good enough for the pros at the Australian and US Opens, we hope you will come by and check it out for yourself.