At 11:30 hours local time Monday 5 August, the large doors to the CDK Technologies yard, on the Keroman site in Lorient, Brittany, were opened to reveal the IMOCA APIVIA to the public and journalists for the first time
Yesterday, following a 12-month build process, the teams at CDK Technologies and those of Team Apivia are happy to present this latest-generation IMOCA to the public.
For this the 1stIMOCA built for APIVIA, a subsidiary of the MACIF group, MerConcept was keen to place its trust in the yard which enabled François Gabart to take victory in the Vendée Globe in 2012.
Designed by Guillaume Verdier, this boat with her striking architectural options, is somewhat different from the first 2 latest-generation IMOCAs manufactured by CDK: CHARAL launched in 2018, and ARKEA PAPREC, launched very recently.
CDK Technologies and MerConcept, mutual trust
However, making an IMOCA is essentially a story of the women and men, who have been combining their efforts on a daily basis for nearly a year in order to pull off this mission.
Charlie Dalin, skipper of the IMOCA APIVIA:
“I’d like to thank the CDK Technologies yard for their incredible work on the construction of the IMOCA APIVIA. I’ve been a regular visitor to the yard in Lorient and it’s been a very agreeable experience witnessing how utterly invested all the teams have been in the construction of the boat. I’ll be thinking of them out on the water and I fully intend to be worthy of the work they have put into this so that they feel proud to have participated in this project.”
Nicolas de Castro, Technical Director of the Team MerConcept:
“The cooperation between CDK Technologies and MerConcept is one of the keys to the success of the projects we carry out. At CDK, we can rely on a boat builder that is constantly seeking the best possible solutions to fulfil our performance objectives”.
Stéphane Digard, Industrial Director of CDK technologies:
“Working with a team like Mer Concept prompts us to constantly up our game in terms of our construction techniques. Our success is based on a very high level of mutual trust, and projects are always carried out with a constructive mindset”
CDK Technologies, the only boat builder to have built 4 new generation IMOCAs for the next Vendée Globe
A four-time winner of the Vendée Globe and the reigning champion, CDK Technologies has further bolstered its position as the flagship yard for the IMOCA class and relishes the opportunity to collaborate with the class’ most prominent naval architects.
Having constructed the VPLP designed CHARAL in 2018, CDK Technologies was selected to manufacture the main parts of the very distinctive ARKEA PAPREC, a Kouyoumdjian design launched in mid-July 2019.
APIVIA, a Verdier design, constitutes the third IMOCA CDK to be launched since 2018! Above all she is the first boat built entirely on CDK Technologies’ Lorient site, thanks in particular to the installation of a very large latest-generation oven.
Together with CORUM, whose hull and deck are currently being manufactured in Port La Forêt, no fewer than 4 of the 8 new IMOCAs designed to compete in the next Vendée Globe will have been cooked up in CDK’s ovens!
CDK Technologies, a global yard
Created over 35 years ago, CDK has enjoyed steady growth for the past 5 years thanks to the recognition it has gained among its main clients and its positioning as a global constructor in the domain of large-scale high-performance composite parts.
Historically a composite structure specialist, CDK is now able to step up to the plate with all the high-performance technical parts that make up a racing yacht: multihull and monohull platforms, hulls, masts, booms and now foils for the ULTIMs and IMOCAs. Its extraordinary capacity for cooking the many different elements (50m autoclaves and a 36m oven) is a major asset in enabling it to be a cut above the rest.
CDK Technologies, the ULTIMate yard
In early 2019, CDK Technologies, began work on the construction of the new Banque Populaire XI, a latest generation foiling ULTIM. This new project has earned CDK Technologies a spot as one of the main protagonists in one of the most innovative projects in the offshore racing domain.
CDK Technologies employs 75 people across 2 sites, Lorient and Port La Forêt in Brittany.
Foto: © BP / CDK technologies
