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The flexible acrylic sheet, ShieldUp^® Flex, gives designers greater freedom to shape their 2D pieces and simplifies the manufacturing processes. Lalou Roucayrol attests to this with his new trimaran, Arkema 4, the glazings use ShieldUp^® Flex acrylic glass. A wonderful example for this world premiere, paving the way into many other markets.

The brand new Arkema 4 was launched in the water this morning outside the Lalou Multi Composite shipyard in Port Bloc in the Gironde region, after one year of painstaking work. This Multi50 is the result of close and intense technical collaboration between the Arkema Group and Lalou Multi, partners for now 8 years. With recyclable resins, new adhesives, clean energy..., many innovative materials and technical solutions complement bold architectural choices. Adorned with blue and grey with a touch of red, the new Multi50 is now ready in the run-up to the initial tests and a swift and efficient handover, thanks to a busy and varied sports program.

The current health crisis spares nobody, and every single company is impacted to some degree. Initiated last year by the Arkema Group and the Lalou Multi team, the construction of the new Multi50 Arkema 4 in Verdon-sur-Mer has also felt the fall-out from this crisis: loss of staff, problems in procuring materials, and sanitary measures put in place on a construction site where over 20 people would normally be working. Despite the delay, the construction and assembly of the new trimaran are making steady progress, and the launch of this new machine, under the watchful eye of Quentin Vlamynck, has been rescheduled for July 2020.

27 year old Quentin Vlamynck is preparing to take the helm of the future Arkema 4. The youngest skipper in the history of the Multi50 class is taking on this challenge eagerly and with a cool head. Quentin is fully aware of this opportunity and of the hopes vested in him, and he also knows that he can count on the expertise of his mentor, Lalou Roucayrol, and on the many skills of the Arkema Group and the Lalou Multi sailing team. Plenty to look forward to throughout two seasons in the run-up to the legendary Route du Rhum solo race in late 2022. We went to meet Quentin in the Lalou Multi Composite workshops where the construction of the Multi50 is now on the home straight.