Finnish boatbuilder balances history, innovation in fiberglass composites design

Boatbuilder Sargo Oy (Kokkola, Finland) is known for its all-season boats, such as its line of Sargo and Sargo Explorer yachts and leisure boats, as well as professional boats for use by police or rescue operations.

Founded in 1967 by Edy Sarin under the original name Sarins Snickeri, the company got its start building wooden interiors for sailing boats. A few years later, the company expanded its production to glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) dinghies. In the following decades, the company expanded its production to larger and more complex boats, eventually changing its name.

Sargo Oy is one of the honorees for CW Top Shops 2023, an annual benchmarking survey program run by CompositesWorld and Gardner Intelligence (Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.). Composites fabricators participate by filling out a survey (the 2024 CW Top Shops survey link is now open through April 30, 2024) detailing the company’s operations over the past year. Each participating company is then sent a customized report from Gardner Intelligence, illustrating the facility’s performance on a variety of metrics in comparison with others who have taken the survey. The highest performing facilities across metrics qualify for distinction as a CW Top Shop.

Beyond the data, what makes these facilities stand out? The CW team asked each of the latest honorees to share more about their companies’ histories, goals and trends in the composites industry.

The following Q&A features responses from Petri Wikström, operations manager at Sargo Oy:

CW: What composite materials and processes do you work with?

Wikström: Traditionally our products are made of GFRP, by hand layup in open molds. Today we are increasing the use of infusion in our production. With infusion, we can significantly reduce material use and weight, which leads to better fuel efficiency for the boat and lower overall costs.

CW: What end markets do you serve?

Wikström: Our primary market is in leisure boats, even though approximately 20% of the boats goes to commercial use.

CW: What is the size of the company today?

Wikström: Our facility is about 6,500 square meters. We employ 73 people at the company and about 60 more by contract.

CW: Sargo’s website emphasizes that your boats are 100% handmade using the Sargo Production System method. Can you expand upon what this method entails?

Wikström: Our production team is well trimmed on lean production, aiming to reduce waste. Sargo Production System follows closely with the Hoshni Kanri method. This method will help us to optimizing costs and resources and increasing productivity and efficiency. Reducing waste and reducing emissions also creates a healthier environment for our employees.

CW: Does your facility employ automation, or plan to do so in the future? If so, what processes are automated, or what opportunities do you see in this area?

Wikström: We are participating in 3D printing research with our local university. The scope of that research is to develop large-scale 3D printing of molds for lamination. First molds have been produced and we are looking forward to see some more results in coming year.

CW: How does Sargo Oy contribute to workforce development?

Wikström: As we are located on east coast of Gulf of Bothnic in Finland, we have long heritage in boatbuilding. We have, in our region, 85% of boatbuilding professionals in Finland, so we have a good potential of skilled labor. It is the young generation that must be attracted to handicraft. In our region, it has become more popular among manufacturers to make their own recruitment training for employees of demanding composite products.

CW: Reflecting back on 2023, what was your company’s biggest achievement or strength?

Wikström: At the Düsseldorf boat show in 2023, we presented a new Sargo 45 all-season yacht, with 90% of the GFRP parts made with the infusion method. Markets have taken well to the new model, and all the production of that model has been sold to 2025.

CW: What goals does the company have going into 2024, or what opportunities do you see ahead?

Wikström: The target for 2024 is to increase the production volume of the Sargo 45 model. Now, when the global economy is in recession, we will start to enlarge the production facilities and take out new models. That way we will be even stronger when the market starts to recover again.