NLComp starts building its rFactory to scale composite sustainable production

 
photo: Building rFactory (source: NLComp)

The groundbreaking ceremony took place in the industrial area of Monfalcone, just steps away from the Lisert navigation channel. The new production site, built entirely with sustainable materials (including wood and NLComp’s proprietary composites), marks a strategic step in the growth of the startup, which was born in the marine sector and is now ready to expand into wind energy and high-performance advanced materials.

rFactory will cover an area of approximately 500 m² and will host a production line for sustainable composite components up to 20 metres in length, offices and design spaces, as well as a meeting room for working with partners and industrial stakeholders.

The first product to be manufactured in the new facility will be Offshore 34, a racing sailboat designed by Gianluca Guelfi and Fabio D’Angeli, built with NLComp’s sustainable resins and marketed under the Northern Light brand.

The start of construction also sends a strong signal to Italy’s innovation ecosystem: a deep-tech startup investing in local manufacturing, genuine sustainability, and a circular supply chain, in a context where industrialisation is often the most critical phase to finance and structure.

“We’re truly excited,” said Fabio Bignolini, CEO of NLComp. “The groundbreaking ceremony is a moment I would call historic for our company: we will finally have the ability to produce entirely in-house, completing our transition from startup to established business. The plot purchased from the Monfalcone Industrial Consortium has the size and location that already allow us, together with our partners and shareholders—especially the Samer Group—to plan future development in sectors linked to boating and wind energy.”

“The laying of the foundation stone,” added Enrico Samer, President of Samer & Co. Shipping, shareholder of NLComp, “is always a moment of great significance for an entrepreneur: it represents both a point of arrival and a starting point in bringing an industrial project to life. NLComp now has all the tools to excel and prove its worth on the international market.”

NLComp has raised approximately €1.2 million (US$1.39 million) from leading investors and has participated in the Zero acceleration program of CDP Venture Capital and Zest.