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A tribute to the companies and people who have made Barche a Motore great over these 35 years allowing it to be born, grow, and become great up to this historic anniversary. In these articles the great excellences of boating tell their stories and reveal their projects, making an important contribution to the knowledge of this world, which allows us all to go to sea, in all forms and contexts.
Sailing at sea, a ZAR Formenti inflatable boat does not escape the eye and is immediately recognizable thanks to the prominent fiberglass structure above the deck. Such a design element is the trademark of this Lombard company, which has always produced special inflatable boats that precisely because of this feature are sometimes considered a sort of hybrid between a classic inflatable boat and a motor boat. The aim of their fiberglass structure is actually to draw the best from the two main worlds of boating: the safety, stability and performance that a dinghy guarantees combined with the comfort and interior space of a “classic” hull. A distinctive and absolutely winning choice for these boats that both add to the scrupulous craftsmanship, the search for uncompromising quality and the use of the best materials and the most advanced technologies. These cornerstones are the foundation of the Formenti shipyard, which since 1979, the year of its birth, has gained an excellent reputation year after year, and it is no coincidence that its inflatable boats have become a true reference of “made in Italy” production.
It all started because of Piero Formenti, born in 1958, the creator of this prestigious brand. Passing on to him his passion for the sea and inflatable boats was his father, who at the time was a production manager at Reeves, a company that made rubberized fabrics and a small series of removable square bow inflatable boats in the 1970s. On summer vacations spent with his father just aboard a 5-meter Reeves pneumatic boat with a 25-horsepower outboard, little Piero fell in love with these boats and this way of sailing, so simple, fast and versatile. The idea of turning that passion for inflatable boats into a profession matured a few years later, when Piero, now a boy, began to visit the company his father ran, thus having the opportunity to learn more about the construction methods and materials used. At the age of 20, Piero built his first 4.90-meter dinghy with a detachable keel. After this amateur experience he opened his sole proprietorship. In the early years he worked in his home garage and built ten inflatable boats in a year. In 1982, after experimentation, he rented a 200-square-meter shed where he built four models from 3.20 to 4.80 meters, again with removable keel.
1986 was the year of the first participation in the Genoa Boat Show for ZAR Formenti with the “Makò” line equipped with a fiberglass hull. “At the beginning we were only three employees,” Piero Formenti himself recounts. but in a short time we grew to thirteen, and by 2008 there were already 43 of us. We set up a sales network right away, focusing on the maniacal pursuit of excellence, the use of the best materials in the world, such as “Orca” rubberized fabric, and then gelcoats and quality resins.” . ZAR Formenti made the real leap forward in 1993 with the patented ZAR design that included a structural fiberglass bow, two self-supporting side tunnels in the hull, and a special locker in the aft area, then a transom flush with the cones that allowed, for the same length, a longer hull to optimize performance.
The 2000s saw for the shipyard the introduction of the latest information technology with the acquisition of 3D design software. Even today, all of the company’s production of prototypes, scale models and full-size models, as well as molds, takes place with the use of numerically controlled machines that guarantee maximum precision. Another distinguishing feature of ZAR Formenti is that all production is in Italy. “Producing abroad carries the risk of putting our ‘know how’ at risk,” explains Piero Formenti, ” and we want total quality control because we believe so much in made in Italy. In 2004, Piero’s son Luca also joined the ZAR Formenti team, giving a nice boost to the development of this family business, which also involves his wife Donatella in the role of Administrative Director. To date the shipyard has about 30 models in its catalog, exports to 40 countries around the world and can count on a network of 100 distributors. In short, that of ZAR Formenti is the story of a typically Italian success story that rests on very solid values, shared by the entire boating community and by trade magazines, such as Barche a Motore, which has followed Piero Formenti’s ingenious boats with interest and sincere appreciation since the beginning.
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