Absolute Yachts
PMY: How does your passion for both boating and business feed innovation?
ANGELO GOBBI: Passion is a word with many different meanings: My entire life has been - and still is - led by passion for my products, for the technologies, for the daily effort to be continuously evolving. And passion is a contagious virus, from what I can see. I’m proud to say that, through the decades, I’ve always had people in my companies whose mental ages are forever young, and whose commitment was absolute, in all senses: Open-minded people who keep deploying new technology to deliver a genuine experience of innovation, which is of primary importance for our customers, and above all for younger generations. Thus, it is relatively easy to feed innovation because of our DNA. The reasons Absolute was founded was to be ambitious, independent and innovative. And we did just that.
PMY: How will your products change to meet the needs of the evolving marketplace?
SERGIO MAGGI: Our creativity is highly driven by one key input source, namely our open eyes on different markets. More precisely, we listen to what boaters say and think about what they’ll want in the future. There have been imitators of our Navetta line, but if you look back at four years ago, you would see that our first Navetta 58 appeared exactly when nobody else was thinking about this concept. She was sold out in the blink of an eye. Why? Because we sensed how the wind was turning! We’re proud to say that the creativity of Absolute is being carried on by a cohesive group of professionals. On our team you can find some of the most talented engineers and designers in the pleasure craft industry. Some of our employees have a diverse work background and others are fresh out of school. This brilliant mix of backgrounds, together with our openminded approach, is the best assurance we have that our boats will always surf the wave.
PMY: Construction methods seem to be improving every year; what is your company doing to improve boat construction?
MARCELLO BÈ: In tangible numbers, we produce three totally new models per year on average. Besides that, a bunch about four to five models undergo restyling each year. This is possible also thanks to our exclusive manufacturing method called ISS (Integrated Structural System), that allows us to greatly optimize our time-to-market. Our assembly method is rather unusual compared to many other boatyards because the structural construction is completed (including hull and deck coupling) before the onboard components are fitted inside (including big ones, such as the engines, generators, etc.) We spent years refining this approach and today we boast about what we think is the best method ever for building yachts under 78 feet. And we never rest: New ideas are exploited every new season to ensure we surprise our loyal customers and attract new, younger owners.