AS Labruna celebrates 50 years

To understand the meaning of AS Labruna 50 years birthday, imagine the tower of a pentagonal-shaped castle, completed in 1552, based in Monopoli, Apulia. Imagine it overhanging the Adriatic Sea.

AS Labruna discusses the Blue Economy for the 50 years of the business

It was in this setting that Massimo Labruna, the 47-year-old engineer and CEO of AS Labruna, organised a conference on the Blue Economy and ecological transition. The event was attended by FPT Industrial and other engine manufacturers from Southern Italy, Isotta Fraschini Motori, a Fincantieri Group company, and CMD, Loncin Group. The gaze was naturally drawn towards the Mediterranean for a geographical matter (a maritime highway to Greece and the Balkans starts from Monopoli) than for AS Labruna’s vocation. In fact, the company is also FPT, CMD and VM Motori dealer for large ‘slices’ of the Mediterranean Sea.

LF marine & industrial supplies

Through LF marine & industrial supplies, AS Labruna also manages Fpt Industrial’s off-road engine dealership for North Africa, from Cape Verde to Israel, covering the whole Maghreb.

Massimo Labruna began by saying that “The blue economy and ecological transition sound as two slogans, we must make them really sustainable, even in time. The ICE stop in road transportation will bring about a turnaround in the nautical sector too, which is intimately linked to the environment. It is the entrepreneur’s task to explore new areas to discover new ideas, he is a pioneer.“

After him, Fabio Rigon, VP sales FPT Industrial, a IVECO Group company, recalled how, despite everything, diesel has not run out of steam. FPT is committed to continually reducing its carbon footprint, including with alternative fuels such as HVO. Of course, the commitment also covers green hydrogen and electrification, including partnerships to handle the thorny issue of battery recycling and disposal.

Giovanni Bruni, COO of Isotta Fraschini, emphasised that companies need energy, the world is increasingly hungry for energy. To satisfy this need there can be no more diesel alone and they have therefore turned to hydrogen. As a first step they are developing an ICE that will run on 100 per cent hydrogen and a hybrid project with ICE, fuel cells and batteries for a tugboat.

Mariano Negri is the CEO of CMD, which has been developing a hybrid power unit for the nautical sector for years. They too are currently engaged in the hydrogen ICE, which they strategically prefer to full electric as a solution for marine applications.

Speaking of electrification, AQUA Superpower, which develops and manages fast charging systems for electric hulls from 22 kW direct current to 150 kW alternating current, also attended the conference.