TEAM Italia: A Synthesis of Form and Function

A Synthesis of Form and Function

A representative of Made in Italy excellence throughout the world, TEAM Italia expresses all the values driving the country’s yacht industry – cutting-edge technology, design and function. And it can give beauty to things that by their nature aren’t always attractive!

by Angelo Colombo - ph. Courtesy by TEAM Italia

The company was founded in 2000, but in fact the two partners who set it up have worked in the field of naval technical systems since the 1980s. Massimo Minnella and Daniele Ceccanti are two professionals who began collaborating almost forty years ago now on the production and installation of naval command and control systems, an experience that enabled them to identify a crucial requirement – integrating all these systems to facilitate the availability of information for the captain and officers, at the same time simplifying the use of all on-board systems through a single interface. As Massimo Minnella says, “All the many on-board systems have their own functional logic, instructions and particular features, and integrating them enables us to give the crew the opportunity to manage all of them through a single logic, one that’s often personalised, so it’s all more streamlined and efficient”. This is the technical key that led to the creation of the I-Bridge®, a management platform integrating the numerous on-board systems dealing with ship handling and controlling all the systems. “On a modern yacht

I-Bridge®, an integrated management platform for the many on-board systems controlling ship-handling and all installations. Ease of use and immediate availability of information needed to manage all the yacht’s critical elements are basic features. These pages, some examples. Top, co-founders Massimo Minnella (left) and Daniele Ceccanti

you have to manage a large number of installations, each with a specific purpose, from navigational tools to energy management. Without an integrated system the crew is faced with a whole range of different sources for the controls and management panels, each with its own language and philosophy. Our systems place every piece of equipment under the captain’s control. They can be managed from several integrated command and control stations, all with a single functional logic and graphic interface that we develop for every individual yacht”. From a technical point of view TEAM Italia has brought some very advanced developments to the command consoles on large yachts, but it doesn’t stop there. “When we decided to introduce our ideas to the yacht industry we had to take into account two factors that we didn’t have to deal with in larger ships – limited space and aesthetic considerations”, says Minnella. Since the presentation of its first unit Team Italia’s aim has been the technological integration of its systems, offering entirely customised helm stations made by its skilled workers or in collaboration with yard’s designers and owners. With TEAM Italia, form and substance are integrated into a high-tech system on board many large yachts, so the company now operates from three units, in Fano, Forlì and Livorno. Constant hardware and software research and development as well as meetings with crews, designers and the yard’s technicians makes Team Italia a partner rather than a supplier, because every I-Bridge® system is custom made from an aesthetic and functional point of view. team-italia.it