March 7 2017

Decision SA signs new deal for the delivery of the first Seabubble

Swiss composite manufacturer DECISION SA signs new deal for the delivery of the first Seabubble.

Lausanne based DECISION SA, member of the Carboman Group is an historic high-end carbon boatbuilder and a major player in the construction of large composite parts for industrial application. The company has continued over the years to create, develop and manage all kinds of prototypes in composites materials, either as one-offs or small series production, and is now establishing itself as a main actor for all international clients who want to develop and build challenging composite products.

The Solar Impulse revolution
The company's diversification started in 2011 with the construction and assembly of all of the main composites structures of Solar Impulse, the revolutionary prototype that was the first and unique solar plane to have accomplished a round the world flight without a single drop of fuel. This technological and human challenge, something that was once just a dream, was made possible by the Solar Impulse engineers and the DECISION building team, who pushed the limits of composites manufacturing in all of its aspects: weight saving, strength, aerodynamics.

America's Cup
More recently, it was the French America's Cup team, Groupama Team France, who benefited from DECISION's expertise for the construction of the various elements of their 50' prototype racing catamaran. Designed by more than 30 engineers, this precision work required over 15,000 hours of labour, split between both CARBOMAN group entities: DECISION in Switzerland and MULTIPLAST in France. This racing machine represents the ultimate evolution of yacht design and boatbuilding techniques and is capable of reaching speeds in excess of 45 knots on the water with the sole power of the wind. The boat will be competing in the 35th Americas Cup Challenge in May 2017 in Bermuda.

Composites solutions now also available for civil engineering
Various architectural studios and engineering offices have also called upon DECISION’s expertise in providing solutions for civil engineering and buildings, where composites materials can provide the best compromise to specific shape requirements, weight constraints, strength and to safety aspects. DECISION is currently working on integrated solutions for composite roof panels, bridges and other structural elements for internationally recognised customers.
These developments, as well as the integration of fire protective requirements in composite materials, have put DECISION in a key place to provide innovative solutions for the building industry. The company continues to collaborate actively on these different fields and has worked, for more than 20 years, with the internationally renowned École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

Seabubble, carrying people above the water…
Thanks to its capacity to deliver on-time integrated solutions to client’s challenging demands, DECISION has recently had the famous French skipper of “L'Hydroptère”, Alain Thébault, and his business partner, windsurfing champion Anders Bringdal, knocking on its doors to develop and build the first prototypes of Seabubble.
These unique one-of-a-kind electrical and ecological vehicles will carry passengers across rivers, lakes, harbours or marinas. They will be equipped with foils that will lift the vehicle and make it fly “over the water”, without generating any waves. The first prototypes will be delivered in June 2017 and trials will take place in Paris, on the Seine, right after.

February 27 2017

Decision SA present to JEC 2017

From the 14th to the 16th of March 2017, Decision SA is at the JEC in Paris on the hall 6 on stand 6.

At this opportunity, our facilities, technological innovations and latest projects in composite materials are presented.

October 12 2016

Boat #8 under construction

An eighth boat will be built ahead of the 2017-18 edition, the Volvo Ocean Race has confirmed.

As a one-design class, it will of course be identical to the existing fleet of seven Volvo Ocean 65s in every way, and will be launched in May 2017, five months before the start of the next edition. The team behind this new build will be announced early in 2017.

"It's exciting to welcome an addition to the fleet ahead of the next edition, as this was not necessarily expected," said Nick Bice, the Volvo Ocean Race's Director of Boats and Maintenance. "We now have a real prospect of starting the next race with more boats than in the last edition."

He added: "There will be absolutely no advantage in terms of physical performance or reliability. The new boat will be identical to the existing fleet in every respect.

"All of the Volvo Ocean 65s were built with at least two editions in mind, possibly even a third – and the seven that finished the 2014-15 edition are still in fantastic condition."

Decision SA is one of the contractors for the fabrication of the components for the new boat, and will use the same moulds, materials and process of building the original fleet of Volvo Ocean 65s. After completion, the boat will be delivered to the Boatyard facility in Lisbon, where it will undergo rigorous measurement tests.

"When it comes to measuring, we run a fully transparent process. Anyone from any team can come and witness the boats being measured in our refit facility in Lisbon, to ensure they fit the bill," said Bice.

"Our tests on the existing boats have shown they have not lost any of their rigidity or performance, so whilst the team building a new boat will have 'no excuses' from a mental perspective perhaps, there will be no real advantage in physical terms."

An extensive refit process is currently underway on the original Volvo Ocean 65s. That process is designed to ensure that the components make another 45,000 nautical miles around the world, but also includes significant upgrades in communication equipment, safety, energy generation, and performance electronics as well as new designs of sails which will level the playing field again to some extent.

Source: Volvo Ocean Race

September 28 2016

Mercedes at the Monaco Yacht Show

The Arrow460-Granturismo Edition 1 "Mercedes" exposed at the floating pontoon T17bis of the Monaco Yacht Show by Silver Arrows Marine.

September 1 2016

Change of General Manager of Decision SA

After more than 30 years as General Manager of Decision SA, Bertrand Cardis has asked to step down from the business's operational management in order to devote part of his time to new projects.

Decision's Board of Directors has asked M. Grégoire Metz, who has long-term and renowned experience in the field of composite materials, to take the helm of the company. He will take up his post on the 1st of September as General Manager of Decision SA.

Bertrand Cardis remains Decision SA's Director, as well as shareholder and Director of Groupe Carboman SA, owner of the Swiss company. He will be responsible for overseeing the integration of the new general manager and for developing special projects for Groupe Carboman.

The Board of Directors is delighted to retain Bertrand Cardis's expertise, as well as to be able to employ Grégoire Metz's energy and new skills to meet the different and exciting challenges expected for the coming years."

July 27 2016

Decision SA official supplier of Solar Impulse

Décision's team is pleased and wishes to congratulate Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg for having imagined, 13 years ago, the solar power around the world flight project and for having achieved it by landing in Abu Dhabi.

A collaboration since 2003

Décision-Groupe Carboman is proud to have collaborated with Solar Impulse since the beginning of the project, in May 2003, and becoming one of the key partner. The swiss company based in Ecublens was in charge of the production of the main carbon structures for both planes, HB-SIA and then S2, especially for the wings longitudinal beams, the fuselage, the engines and the pilot cockpit support system.

Décision SA and NTPT

The collaboration developed between Décision and NTPT located in Cossonay in Switzerland allowed to build the plane's parts with an innovative method using thin layers of carbon fibers (Thin Ply Technology®). This technology, applied on the construction of S2 allowed to manufacture the composites structures, light enough to perform the flights around the world safely and to ensure the reliability of the plane.
We hope that this successful adventure will have proved to the world that their vision to fly an ultralight and ultra-perfomant structure, with nothing but sustainable energy is possible. Hence, this achievement opens up, from now on, new and exciting prospects for the world of aeronautics, in particular in the development of stratospheric solar drones that could stay several months in high altitude.

We wish them good luck for their future challenges and we will be delighted to share them by carrying on our collaboration.