When the world’s finest sailing yachts are built at Hallberg-Rassy on the Swedish Westcoast, it’s a meticulously refined process. Building the hulls Thomas Tryggvebo and his colleagues in Kungshamn use machines from Aplicator Group to achieve the quality and results that meet their standard.
Hallberg-Rassy is one of the world’s most renowned builder of sailing yachts, and it’s the brand that most sailors dream of once owning a yacht from. All around the globe Hallberg-Rassy are famous for combining elegance and comfort with effortless sailing joy.
The sailing yachts, between 31-64 feet long, are built in Kungshamn and Ellös och on the Swedish Westcoast and delivered to buyers worldwide. The yearly production of sailing yachts has a turnover of around 25 million Euros.
Thomas Tryggvebo is the site manager for Hallberg-Rassy Marinplast in Kungshamn and responsible for leading the work of building the hulls in gelcoat and fibreglass-composite.
– To build a sailing yacht is a long and meticulous process, he explains. One of the challenges involved is to produce a hull that is durable and stable yet still light enough to achieve the best possible sailing performance.
It takes Thomas Tryggvebo and his colleagues 12-15 weeks to build a hull. Each boat is built in a mould. First a layer of gelcoat and barrier coat is applied with an Aplicator IPG 24 hydral. Thereafter, the hull is built layer upon layer with polyester and glass fiber using Aplicator 8000 to achieve the best possible durability.
– The hardening of the material emits heat which must be dissipated away. This part of the process can’t be sped up. Therefore, we apply the material in multiple thin layers, explains Thomas.
Hallberg-Rassy and Aplicator Group has a relation that go way back. When Thomas started working at Hallberg-Rassy in 1984, Aplicator-machines were already in use. During the years, continual investments and upgrades in newer models have been made.
– Aplicator Group offers high quality and provide machines we can trust. Our equipment from Aplicator Group is a fundamental part of our manufacturing process here in Kungshamn, helping us to keep a smooth and flexible process with a rational, steady flow, says Thomas Tryggvebo at Hallberg-Rassy Marinplast.
