Increasingly compact engine rooms: the challenge is to maintain reliability and performance

Contemporary yacht design tends to focus attention on large glass surfaces, living volumes, and increasingly spectacular environments. Behind all this, however, lies a complex technical infrastructure that must operate without compromise. It is in the engine room that pumps, water pressurization systems, and fans must guarantee continuous operation, often within increasingly reduced spaces. According to Andrea Corradi, this is precisely one of the most interesting challenges for manufacturers of marine components: “It is a fascinating and, at the same time, extremely complex challenge, because inside the engine room, where our products are installed, spaces are literally shrinking,” states Corradi in the interview.

This trend makes it necessary to achieve high performance using more compact components, without sacrificing safety and reliability. On this topic, Corradi explains: “The only way to continue guaranteeing our customers reliability, safety, and professionalism is to continue investing in research and development, constantly improving our products.” This is a particularly important approach for components that, despite being barely visible, perform essential functions. In fact, CEM manufactures a wide range of electric pumps, water pressure systems, pressure sets, circulators, and fans intended for marine use.

ISO 9001: greater control and product traceability

Another central topic of the interview concerns the certification path undertaken by the company. CEM recently achieved the milestone of ISO 9001 certification, which adds to its RINA and IQNET certifications. The process, Corradi explains, required over a year of work and directly involved the internal organization of the company: “It was a rather long process, lasting more than a year, but I believe it was a fundamental step for the growth of our company and to guarantee complete traceability of all our products.”

Certification also takes on particular importance in relationships with major international shipyards, where process control and the ability to accurately reconstruct the production history of each component represent increasingly relevant elements. “This allows us to offer our customers an additional level of safety. In fact, the certification was highly appreciated,” emphasizes Corradi.

CEM Elettromeccanica targets the US market

Among the most significant steps in CEM Elettromeccanica’s recent growth strategy is its expansion into the United States, an exceptionally important market for the yacht and superyacht sector. The company chose to approach it through a strategic agreement with Environmental Marine Services, which came after a careful evaluation phase of potential partners. “The US market represents a huge opportunity for us, but like all great opportunities, it also conceals risks,” warns the head of CEM.

Precisely for this reason, the company preferred to proceed cautiously, analyzing the market before identifying the partner with whom to develop its presence overseas: “Before concluding this agreement, we conducted in-depth studies and turned down several collaboration proposals. Ultimately, we selected this company for its history and for what it can guarantee to our customers in the United States.”

The goal is not merely to increase sales, but rather to build a network capable of ensuring support and service continuity even thousands of miles away from the Italian headquarters. “It is a market that can certainly reserve great surprises for us and offer enormous growth opportunities. We want to face it and position ourselves in the best possible way.”

Andrea Corradi: “Production in Nonantola is the value of a controlled supply chain”

In an industrial sector characterized by increasingly globalized supply chains, CEM continues to maintain its manufacturing core in Nonantola, in the heart of Emilia. For Andrea Corradi, this choice is strictly linked to the quality of the final product. Indeed, keeping engineering, manufacturing, and suppliers close together allows the company to exercise direct control over its processes.

“The success of our company depends primarily on the quality of our products,” he states bluntly. “To guarantee this high quality standard, it is absolutely necessary that everything remains within the company, from production processes to the proximity of suppliers.” This organization allows direct intervention on the product and keeps the various stages of manufacturing under control. “In this way, we can guarantee quality and product control that allows our company to maintain the levels of excellence our customers are accustomed to.”

Energy efficiency and photovoltaics: Andrea Corradi’s strategy for sustainability

Electrification and energy consumption reduction are also rapidly modifying the design of onboard systems. Electric motors, circulators, pumps, and fans must be increasingly efficient to contribute to reducing the overall energy requirements of the yacht. CEM chose to address this transition by working simultaneously on the product and on the manufacturing process: “Our company moved in two directions. The first directly concerns the products: through dedicated design, we continue to invest in research and development to increase their efficiency and reduce energy consumption.”

The second direction concerns the energy used in the facility. “We have also invested heavily in renewable energy. Today, 90% of the energy we use in the company for our production comes from photovoltaic panels.” This is a significant figure because it shifts the theme of efficiency from individual equipment to the entire industrial process, combining the search for lower onboard consumption with the progressive reduction of manufacturing’s energy footprint.

Conclusions

The interview with Andrea Corradi highlights how much the evolution of contemporary yachting is not just about what is immediately visible. Behind design, comfort, and performance lie technical systems called upon to operate for long hours, often under challenging conditions and inside increasingly compact spaces. For CEM Elettromeccanica, the answer lies primarily in research and development, manufacturing control, and internationalization. ISO 9001 certification strengthens process traceability, while the agreement for the US market opens a new phase of international growth. Added to these elements is the pursuit of energy efficiency, pursued both in component development and inside the Nonantola facility. A strategy that keeps at its core a principle that is particularly important in marine components: what cannot be seen onboard is often precisely what cannot afford to stop working.

Sources and references

Andrea Corradi – FAQ