I remember reading in a mag years ago, that Mistral bought out ART (Advanced Research Technology) at the same time they bought out Fanatic. But they were going to allow them to continue production under those names for marketing reasons.
If I recall correctly, Monty Spindler was the main designer at ART. I remember seeing their cutaway sails, some had a velcro patch where you could put the cutaway back in.
I did a search and came up with this page, that briefly explains what happened to ART:http://www.windsurfingsales.com.au/aboutsales/earlydays.php
I guess without Monty, ART could not survive. Perhaps it is similar with Loft today.
Robert Stroj (now head designer at Neil Pryde) took over from Spindler at ART (isn't it Advanced Rig Technology ?).
I still have an ex Steve Allen prototype from around 2000 designed by Stroj. This was around the time that they closed shop. No longer financially viable I think was the reason.
