The Breton tip has a certain number of composite goldsmiths. But, in Brest, in a discreet workshop in the Kergonan area, a gem has continued to develop since 2002. At its head, a composite artist. Florian Madec started in the world of offshore racing, with the navigator Jean Le Cam who came to find him to create foils. Today, at the head of a team of fourteen employees, Florian Madec works mainly in oceanographic research, space and defense. Thales, Ariane Group, Aura Aéro and Exail are among its main clients. As well as a few others who prefer to remain anonymous.
A la carte, prototypes or small series
The strength of this workshop is to produce, in a short time, the prototypes or serial parts of a project. “We are provided with plans and technical constraints. Here, we are able to produce everything in carbon,” explains, very educational, the man who, as a teenager, started in his garage by manufacturing windsurfing fins.
The parts are machined and adjusted to the tenth of a millimeter. Thanks to the filament winding technique, they can take complex shapes and be shaped in record time, with little waste.
Build, verify, certify
The workshop masters all composite techniques, with more and more robots capable of tackling the most elaborate parts. Two autoclave ovens optimize cooking and the resistance of the materials. A hyperbaric chamber is used to check the resistance of parts to pressure. Several control benches complete the certification process. Almost nothing is done, everything is traceable down to the smallest detail. We sometimes order from him several thousand kilometers away, like a customer from the United Arab Emirates who wishes to remain discreet or an America’s Cup syndicate in need of rudders with supporting planes to be produced urgently. .
Workshop doubled in 2025
“We produce precision composites, parts which must meet established objectives and specifications. Resist pressure, heat, repeated efforts.” The more complex it is, the more it interests Florian Madec who not only excels from Monday to Saturday lunchtime in his workshop. On his 100% homemade foil, he is the one who, this year, achieves the best speed of the year in the harbor of Brest, all supports combined!
And he hasn’t finished living at 100 miles an hour. The fantastic market for maritime knowledge and underwater drones should open new perspectives for the company which is preparing to double its work space during 2025. Nine months of work are scheduled from the beginning of January (€2 million in investment, new machines included), to go from 850 m² of workshops to 1,800 m², with new robots and new five-axis machining capabilities.
