Inland Innovators
Yacht Style|Issue 58
Located over 100km inland of coastal cities like Genoa and yacht-building hubs like La Spezia and Viareggio, the Absolute facility is a self-contained hub of in-house innovation, automation, craftsmanship and friendly, family-style management.
Clare Mahon
Inland Innovators

I’m driving around looking for the Absolute shipyard, my instincts, and my navigation app at war. There’s not a body of water in sight. A green sea of freshly ploughed fields is all around me and the aroma is of farmland, not low tide. Feeling I must be way off track, I pull over to see what’s wrong. Suddenly, a truck loaded with Volvo Penta IPS engines passes me. Follow that truck, I tell myself, and soon I’m there.

Sergio Maggi and Marcello Bè founded Absolute in 2002 in an area outside of Piacenza where the other major industry is … tomato canning. After all, Piacenza is in northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, renowned for its local produce including ham, salami, cheese and pasta, as well as wine. This, plus the fact the Med is about 100km south, make it an unusual location for shipbuilding, but Maggi and Bè are locals and wanted to stay close to their roots and the hardworking local talent.

The two had met while employed at Cantieri Nautici Gobbi, but when the company was sold, they decided to branch off and establish a yard of their own. Four years later, looking for ways to increase automation in their production lines, they asked former boss Angelo Gobbi to join them at Absolute.

“We started with nothing much more than a good first boat,” Maggi says. “Going forward, we had an idea of what we wanted, but we didn’t know how to get there. Angelo is our visionary. He had the know-how and guided us to where we are today.”

TEAM FIRST

Absolute is all about teamwork and efficiency, not ego. Gobbi happily joined his former employees as a partner and put his skills to work creating a state-of-the-art facility spread over almost 50,000sqm – imagine seven football pitches – where boats are built using an optimised production chain called Integrated Structural System or ISS.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 58-Ausgabe von Yacht Style.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 58-Ausgabe von Yacht Style.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS YACHT STYLEAlle anzeigen
Wong Tet Choong - Singapore's Most Famous Sailor
Yacht Style

Wong Tet Choong - Singapore's Most Famous Sailor

TC Wong made global headlines last year when the rapid spread of Covid left him stranded at sea in his Leopard 50 for months until he was eventually allowed into Fiji, where he has remained since. Now, the adventurous 60-year-old is waiting for borders to open so he can continue his journey around the South Pacific on his beloved Ximula III.

time-read
9 Minuten  |
Issue 61
Burgess Marks New Milestone In Asia With 20th Superyacht Transaction
Yacht Style

Burgess Marks New Milestone In Asia With 20th Superyacht Transaction

Confirming its position as the regional leader in selling large yachts, Burgess’ recent sale of the 52m Amels Lind marked the 20th transaction by the brokerage house’s Asia team since it was formed in 2015.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
Issue 61
Premieres & Newcomers
Yacht Style

Premieres & Newcomers

Yacht Style provides an overview of this year’s exciting new models, with most on display at this year’s Cannes Yachting Festival and/or Monaco Yacht Show, some having shown earlier in the year and a couple making their debuts in other autumn shows around Europe.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
Issue 61
Déjà Vu In Denmark
Yacht Style

Déjà Vu In Denmark

Halfway into SailGP’s second season, a familiar pattern begins to emerge. Australia, runaway winners of the first series, again top the table, despite having to sit out one of the four events held so far with gear failure.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
Issue 61
Galeon Spreads Its Wings
Yacht Style

Galeon Spreads Its Wings

With Hong Kong welcoming its first Galeon 640 Fly and 325 GTO this year and Asia’s latest 500 Fly arriving in Singapore, Yacht Style looks at the builder’s 20-year relationship with Tony Castro that has resulted in some of the world’s most innovative production motor yachts.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
Issue 61
How To Build A ‘Scent Wardrobe'!
Yacht Style

How To Build A ‘Scent Wardrobe'!

Johanna Monange founded Maison 21G in Singapore to offer customised scents for all clients and all occasions. The personal approach is proving popular, with growing understanding of how to build a ‘scent wardrobe’ and more boutiques opening around the city.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
Issue 61
Rolex Fastnet's “Coup De Cherbourg”
Yacht Style

Rolex Fastnet's “Coup De Cherbourg”

Fierce sou’west winds gusting 30 knots greeted 337 yachts starting the Rolex Fastnet Race, as the 49th edition of this famous offshore classic set off not for Plymouth as usual, but for Cherbourg in France, via Ireland’s Fastnet Rock.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
Issue 61
Stepping Out Of The Shadows
Yacht Style

Stepping Out Of The Shadows

As founder and Director of VP Yachts, Vivian Chan is quickly making a name for herself as the Hong Kong dealer for Italian builder Sessa, even if it appears a world away from her other role as General Manager of her family’s Sun Hing Shipyard.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
Issue 61
From Pollution To Purpose
Yacht Style

From Pollution To Purpose

Former Singapore Idol finalist and TV producer Mathilda D’silva explains how the Ocean Purpose Project evolved from what she saw on and around her hometown beach in Pasir Ris.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
Issue 61
TECH GIANT
Yacht Style

TECH GIANT

Camper & Nicholsons’ recent achievements include selling the 105m Lady Moura and adding the 126m Octopus to its charter and management fleets, but CEO Paolo Casani is most excited about the company’s focus on proprietary technology to engage clients in the new era.

time-read
10 Minuten  |
Issue 61