Crazy Lobster: from Custom-Made Composite Parts to Low-Carbon Shipbuilding

Based in the port of Saint-Brieuc, Crazy Lobster manufactures high-end composite parts for shipyards and ocean racing. Combining applied R&D, strong roots in Brittany, and efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, the company is preparing to open a second facility to take its operations to the next level. We speak with Étienne Heude, a partner and R&D engineer at Crazy Lobster.

A company specializing in custom composite parts

Can you tell us about Crazy Lobster?

Crazy Lobster is first and foremost a composite parts manufacturer, with a 16-person workshop in the port of Saint-Brieuc. The bulk of our business involves the custom fabrication of high-end composite parts for shipyards: one-of-a-kind parts, prototypes, and demonstrators. We primarily work on a per-unit basis or in very small production runs.

We are self-sufficient throughout the entire manufacturing chain: an engineering department for design and project management, machining equipment for molds, and the expertise to manufacture the parts. We are proficient in various manufacturing processes, with particular expertise in infusion molding. We also handle finishing, such as preparing appendages ready for installation or painting.

In addition, our R&D department develops our in-house capabilities to tackle increasingly unique projects. We also conduct research on behalf of our clients. Our Research Tax Credit (CIR) certification allows them to benefit from the CIR on eligible services.

Our current facility is approximately 700 m², and we are renovating a second site with over 1,000 m² of production space and 400 m² of office space.

What is the profile of Crazy Lobster’s customers?

Today, our work is primarily focused on the marine industry: yacht builders that produce small batches or were established to build a single yacht. We work with builders such as Gunboat, Black Pepper Yachts, JFA, and FC Cube, and a trimaran is currently under construction at CDK Technologies. Ocean racing teams also come to us for appendages, refits, replacement parts, or repairs—ranging from IMOCA and Multi50 to Class40. Since we do custom work, we also take on unconventional projects: new wind turbines, underwater projects with Ifremer, automotive, and agricultural applications. These are projects that go beyond the ordinary.

How much emphasis does Crazy Lobster place on R&D?

We have a little over two full-time employees dedicated to R&D, which is significant for a company of our size. It’s in the company’s DNA—founded in 2019 by Tual Le Guillerm, who was also a professor and has retained that academic perspective.From the very beginning, some of our projects were dedicated to research for other companies, and many firms turn to us because of the research tax credit.

I think our hybrid approach—combining production and research—explains our high quality standards: we develop our expertise in-house and characterize our products ourselves.

Our R&D work combines applied research and experimental development. It aims to overcome technical barriers, develop new processes, and advance our production capabilities. Since we’re always working on prototypes, we must constantly innovate to set ourselves apart from the competition. Without our research programs, we wouldn’t be able to offer such high-quality products at competitive prices. Currently, for example, we’re working on a project involving very thick infusions.

What sets Crazy Lobster apart from other players in the composites industry?

Our project management makes life much easier for our clients. We put ourselves in their shoes, keep them well informed, and make the right decisions to resolve issues. Crazy Lobster is also a very agile organization—unlike large companies with many middlemen—so we’re highly responsive. We have very few quality issues, so we have a reputation as a fairly reliable company. We’ve almost never been behind schedule, except in cases of project changes or special circumstances.

Saint-Brieuc: A Proud Regional Presence

What does having a presence in Saint-Brieuc offer, given that people tend to think of Lorient first when it comes to composites?

One might see this as a drawback—the fact that we’re isolated from southern Brittany. Our focus on technical and custom-made composite parts remains relatively rare in northern Brittany. Some clients appreciate this more private atmosphere, with less hustle and bustle than in Lorient. We’re primarily based at the Port du Légué, where there’s still room to grow and interesting projects to take on. It took time to raise awareness of our business and our industrial project, but today we enjoy genuine support from the local community. These industries aren’t well known, but we’re taken seriously, and we have the capacity to establish an industrial site at the Port du Légué.

There’s also the Saint-Brieuc IUT, which offers a program in composites. Many locals used to commute down to Lorient: when they learned we had this facility, some of them wanted to come back home. They’re happy to find a place in Northern Brittany where they can work in composites, ocean racing, or boating, since there’s no other shipyard specializing exclusively in composites like ours.

What connections exist between the Saint-Brieuc IUT and Crazy Lobster?

Of the 16 people at the company, about ten are IUT alumni. The founder teaches there, and we’re sponsors of the school’s Bachelor’s in Materials Science and Engineering program, which began in September. It’s not an official partnership, but we regularly take on interns, apprentices, or work-study students, and it’s going well. I used to teach classes there myself from time to time, though a little less now because we’re very busy.

How does wood compare to composite materials?

We use a small amount of wood in our tooling and in a few parts. This is partly the result of research projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of our parts: reuse, optimization of scrap rates, and designs that incorporate wood. This led to a few parts, notably a wing foil, which was a great prototype. But the company was still young, and to continue in that direction, we would have almost had to start a separate company. It was too different from our core business, so we decided against it. We went on to create some beautiful parts, notably wood-carbon foils for Armel Tripon, who built an innovative wooden catamaran.

Shipyards have their own design offices, and we follow their manufacturing plans. Whenever a project is more unconventional, we propose alternative solutions that can reduce the carbon footprint while still performing well. We have demand for this kind of work and we really enjoy it, but it remains a small part of our business.

Reducing Environmental Impact: Quantified Commitments

How is Crazy Lobster approaching the reduction of its environmental impact?

It all comes down to production. Some will tell you we should stop producing altogether, but we believe others will do it anyway: we might as well do it in the most sustainable way possible—or at least the least harmful way. First and foremost, it’s about being aware of the impact of our production. For the 24-foot project, for example, we want to conduct a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of the boat.

When a project doesn’t have a specific plan and we’re handling the design, we always propose an alternative solution, because carbon fiber or fiberglass is very often used where it isn’t necessarily needed. Then it’s up to the customers to decide.

For our future facility, we’re receiving significant support from ADEME, particularly for investments aimed at reducing our environmental footprint. The idea is to embrace Industry 2.0 and bring our ideas to life. This isn’t just hot air: we have specific metrics, defined when we submitted the application, that we must meet within a year or two; otherwise, we won’t receive the funding—or at least not in full. It’s a genuine commitment.

Are these objectives quantified?

Depending on the parts and reference processes, our manufacturing methods can lead to significant reductions in our carbon footprint, particularly through the use of cold-forming processes and the optimization of materials and tooling.

Neptune: Balancing Mechanical Performance and Carbon Footprint

What is the Neptune project?

The NEPTUNE project aims to develop and improve the reliability of infusion processes for very thick composite materials—particularly for the manufacture of foils—by balancing high mechanical performance with a reduced environmental footprint.

This is a research project launched in collaboration with Ifremer and the Brittany region to advance and build expertise in foil manufacturing. Today, there is no research project that does not take the carbon footprint into account, with quantified criteria. It’s not certain that this will work, but we are making good progress on numerous implementation and tooling challenges.

The two objectives are mechanical properties and the carbon footprint. Many people are unwilling to make any concessions on mechanical performance: they’re already pushing the limits of what’s possible, and the carbon footprint must not compromise that. The goal of the project is to show that we can achieve both.