TheLake Como is known for its charming landscape with dignified villas on the waterfront - aParadise for wealthy holidaymakers from all over the world. Large industrial settlements or even yacht yards are less likely to be found here.
And yet the village is Piantedo, located on the north-eastern shore of Lake Como, is home to one of Italy's largest motor yacht shipyards: Cranchi. Founded as a wooden boatyard in San Giovanni di Bellagio in 1870, it took around 100 years for Aldo Cranchi, now a fourth-generation boatbuilder, and Tullio Monzino to open the new shipyard in Piantedo in 1970.
It was the time of the emerging plastic boatbuilding industry, which brought the then ultra-modern shipyard a veritable boom in orders. As a result, sales and brand awareness increased.
It was only a few years before the first plastic boats "made in Italy" found their way across the Alps to German dealers. Over the years, customer demands increased and so did the size of the boats. The initially open sports boats for day trips on the lakes of northern Italy becameDay cruisers, cabin cruisers and finally full-blown motor yachts for offshore use.
In order to cope with the ever larger projects, shipyard number two was founded in the early 2000s in San Giorgio di Nogaro in Friuli Venezia Giulia (see also "Charter und Revier" in the March issue of BOOTE). The Cranchi test centre is now also located here, where interested customers can test drive any boat extensively before making a purchase.
But that was not all. Just eight years later, the nowFamily-owned for the fifth generation shipyard again and created the "Seventy Plant 4" on 140,000 square metres in Piantedo. One ultra-modern shipyard, based on the production processes of the automated automotive industry. Boats and yachts can nowbeyond the 50-foot limitbe built.
Computer-aided warehouse logistics, modern laminating robots and the assembly line production of important add-on parts guarantee Efficient workflows. Towards the end of my tour of the shipyard, I sit down with today'sManager Paola Cranchi at the lake and we talk about her family's recipe for success:
"Product quality and customer satisfaction are our top priorities. After all, our name is synonymous with every single Cranchi boat. This is a great responsibility, but one that we are happy to accept - perhaps this is what sets us apart from many other suppliers.
Cranchi in Germany: Enjoy Yachting in Hanover, www.enjoy-yachting.de
