Delivery of the new autoclave, a unique tool in Brittany
by CDK Technologies 8 Jan 2020 03:13 PST
Arrived from Rotterdam via a barge on Monday 6th January, a large autoclave (4m in diameter and 25m long, 120 tonnes, 10 bars) is now on site at the CDK Technologies shipyard in Lorient.
The port services had prepared the ground for this exceptional handling operation which will last 6 hours, from the opening of the barge, then the positioning of the autoclave on the millipede, and its laying on its foundations within the Lorient yard.
Created over 35 years ago, CDK Technologies is a business leader in the construction of large-scale high-performance composite parts. Armed with its two complementary sites in Port La Forêt and Lorient in Brittany, the company has been enjoying steady growth for the past five years thanks to its continuous investment in a human capital whose level of excellence is recognised by its main clients.
Historically specialising in composite structures in the offshore racing domain, CDK Technologies is now capable of filling a key slot in the market with regards to all the high-performance technical parts that make up a racing yacht: multihull and monohulls, masts, booms and now foils for the ULTIMs and IMOCAs.
Announced a few weeks ago, the investment in an autoclave of unrivalled proportions in Brittany's composite sector (4m in diameter and 25m long, 10 bars) has seen the first key stage come to fruition with the delivery of this impressive machine to the CDK Technologies site in Lorient.
With its arrival meticulously prepared for over several weeks due to its complexity, the handling of this 120-tonne cylinder required all the know-how of the teams from the SEM Keroman and ADEKAMA together with its exceptional lifting means.
The next stages of this project will involve very accurately installing the autoclave on its foundations to enable the work to continue in the premises around the autoclave and proceed to its commissioning.
The first cooking is scheduled for March 2020.
Philippe Facque, CEO of CDK Technologies: "Thanks to what is a unique tool in the region, we hope to support clients in the development of large-scale foils cooked as a single piece. It will also enable us to offer architects and design offices fresh solutions for the proportioning and manufacture of large-scale autoclaved structural parts (multihull beams and floats, bulkheads, booms...).At the same time we are targeting markets that subcontract to the industrial sector".
This substantial programme of investment (1,5M€) will coincide with the creation of around fifteen medium-term qualified posts in Lorient.
CDK Technologies currently employs 80 people across 2 sites, Lorient and Port La Forêt in Brittany, and its turnover in 2019 amounted to €9M.