We visited the Cranchi yard in Valtellina. A very modern and efficient site with cutting-edge plants, where cleanliness and order reign supreme and nothing is left to chance
THE STRENGTHS OF THE CRANCHI SHIPYARD ARE MANY AND FIND their origin in the industrial philosophy that Tullio Monzino and Aldo Cranchi adopted since they founded their Shipyard in 1970, the history of which dates back to 1870 on Lake Como.
The two entrepreneurs, aware of the magnitude of their challenge, set out a strict rule for themselves: invest profits in improving the quality of the working environment and products. Today we can say that the objectives have been widely reached and the years of crisis have neither stopped the development of technologies within the shipyard or the renewal of the range. To obtain this result, it was essential to create a relationship of trust between the company and employees, regardless of their job description. Other key elements were the search for total quality, aware that there should be no flaws in the product thanks to controls that follow the entire production process, and the search for innovation. During the years of maximum productivity, Cranchi built a new yacht every 2 hours and 42 minutes.
Absolute organization reigns in its production facilities, equipment, components and men complete a production cycle where accuracy is comparable to a Swiss chronograph. They spent enormous economic resources to achieve this result implementing large and perfect industrial factories. Today they are able to give an immediate response to market demands thanks to task synchronization between the production line and the suppliers, subcontractors of parts chosen by the degree of reliability and collaborative skills. Behind this philosophy, we find an organization that creates conditions for lean production that runs realtime production flow.
Lean manufacturing is a set of principles, methods and techniques for the management of operational processes, which aims to increase the value perceived by the customer and to systematically reduce waste. This is possible thanks to the involvement of people motivated to continuous improvement. The industrial organization of Cranchi does not contradict the fact that the boat is essentially a handmade product, made almost entirely by human hands.
The production process is perfectly suited to the construction of exclusive pieces. The boat is like a villa, but it moves, challenging the sea, as if it were always subjected to an earthquake, and moreover in a saline environment which the most hostile for the systems. For these reasons the boat is one of the most challenging products to develop; it requires a large number of components and has to be assembled quickly, otherwise, it costs too much. The secret is to save time with a highly efficient production cycle. The construction starts from the moulds which depend on robustness, safety and aesthetics. For this reason, Cranchi takes fanatical care of every detail, keeping them protected from dust in temperature-controlled environments.
To build a boat to perfection, you must not neglect any detail, the pieces of fabric and glass fibers of each model arrive directly from the plant where they are cut. The resin is prepared and applied in an automated manner with constant control of the quantity, temperature and catalyst with a machine made especially for Cranchi: it is very important that the resin catalysis process is carried out at a controlled temperature and humidity, therefore, a colossal air conditioning system changes the air 44 times an hour making the environment as healthy as possible for workers in the shipyard.
All stamping operations are performed sequentially respecting the estimated times for each process and the interval before the next. After a few days needed to consolidate the moulded product, the hull is extracted. It is always an exciting moment although there are no doubts about the success of the work. The moulded products enter a cabin where a robotic drill makes all the necessary holes. The construction of the boat continues with the installation of equipment and furnishings.
Cranchi now produces 25 different models, divided into six ranges, for which 5,600 pieces are needed and the most important thing is to have them all available perfect and ready: so a huge warehouse is necessary. These thousands of components come partly from other companies and are partly produced by Cranchi. An operator and a computer prepare all the materials necessary for the construction of a given model and arrange them on a truck which will be transported to the assembly line: there is everything even the smallest screw. The deck and the hull are prepared separately, so the technicians work more comfortably and more accurately then they proceed to the coupling of the two shells.
The safety of the boat and pleasure to use it depends on the operation of the system and that is why Cranchi prefers to make them here, inside its plant. In the department where electrical systems are prepared there are machines that cut the cable to the correct length, peel it without affecting the copper, test it with its connector and then write on it what it is for, so any electrician worldwide can easily operate on the system. The furniture is perfectly prepared and finished in the carpenter’s workshop with numerically controlled machines and, since everything here is accurate to the millimetre, when it is fitted there is no need of further alterations, in fact, there is not a shred of sawdust. They are fixed with special aluminium extrusions, some even have the shape of the Cranchi logo and are mounted on jigs that prevent positioning errors.
In the study centre not only the boat is designed, but also all of the methods that will be used to produce it. The engineers develop the mathematical process for the milling of the moulds but also those for the positioning of the jigs for the cabinets and those for the construction of mechanical elements with great precision. The use of wood as a structural material within the shipyard has disappeared, replaced by new, lightweight and robust products which do not absorb moisture and do not rot. Steel parts are produced by contractors but polishing is carried out in the factory by a huge automated machine.
The painting booth has a robotic system that distributes the paint only on the boat leaving everything else perfectly clean. The boat is finished and ready to be shipped, but before leaving it must be completely tested here in one of the two tanks of the factory. Cranchi has 100 thousand square meters of covered structures on areas of over 372,000, divided into manufacturing facilities all in Northern Italy: in Piantedo, near Lake Como and the historical premises of the company, at Colico, at Rogolo for yachts up to 80 feet in length; two plants in the province of Udine, in San Giorgio di Nogaro, with private dock and the Italo Monzino Marine Test Centre where you can try out the boats all year round.
(Cantiere Nautico Cranchi, a philosophy to admire – Barchemagazine.com – October 2016)
