International competition
As part of the production of the Figaro Bénéteau 3, the Bénéteau Group has chosen to subcontract the manufacture of the foils. Indeed, this is a critical part for the new one-design yacht, the first production boat to be equipped with this type of appendage, previously reserved for bespoke work. In the summer of 2016, the Vendée-based group launched an international invitation to tender. Multiplast, renowned for building racing yachts, was finally chosen as the supplier in December 2016.
Technical issues
With a production target of 2 foils a week for a year, it was essential to set up a suitable industrial process. One-design requires perfect mastery of the process to obtain exactly identical appendages. The company drew on the know-how of other companies in the Carboman group, such as Plastinov, which makes wind turbine blades. The company's mastery of closed mold and infu-jection systems enabled it to achieve its objective. "Technology transfer with Plastinov, and the budget associated with mass production, enabled us to invest in tooling that we didn't have for single parts. Thanks to this, the part that comes out of the mold is almost finished. It requires less working time", explains Yann Penfornis, head of Multiplast.
A long validation process
Extensive testing led to a solution that was reliable enough for series production, as Samuel Napoléoni, project engineer at Multiplast, explains. "An initial mold section of around 500 mm was rapidly machined so that we could proceed with process validation tests. Each test took a week; we carried out around fifteen in order to isolate the influence of all the parameters. Our aim at the beginning of the year was to make the manufacturing process robust enough to launch series production. At the same time, we were producing the molds and working on workstation ergonomics. It was a great satisfaction for our teams when, at the end of June, we launched the first 4 foils. At that point, we knew the gamble had been won! A foil is produced in two weeks.
A buoyant market...
With around a hundred foils to be produced in less than a year, this contract should give Multiplast considerable experience in the production foil niche. The company intends to build on this know-how to take a leading position in the fast-growing market for production foils, not only for sailing boats, but also for powerboats, in a context of reduced fuel consumption. In this latter niche, Multiplast works in synergy with the Swiss shipyard Décision, which builds Sea-Bubbles water cabs. With the Figaro 3, Multiplast is opening up to a development plan that could be described as promising...