06/07/2009 | Automatic doors for ships and yachts. Experience and passion handed down to the next generation.

Trieste. April 1990.

“Hi Giovanni. My name is Garascia and I work for Ditec. A Finnish customer has bought a number of automatic doors and wishes to install them on a ship under construction in Monfalcone shipyard.
Could you take care of this?”
“On a ship? I have never been on a ship, but I could give it a go. Send me a fax with all the technical data.”

These words still stick out in Giovanni Bozic's mind.
This, in fact, was the phone call that started a successful business venture which led him to set up and manage one of the leading automatic door installation companies currently operating in the highly specialised ship construction industry.

Giovanni Bozic looks like the main character of an adventure novel. Tall, with jet-black hair, a white sailor's beard, a reassuring, calm voice and a deep, charismatic look. We could easily picture him wearing a navy officer's uniform. As a matter of fact, ships are his world.
Centraltecnica, the company he founded exactly 30 years ago, specialises in installing and servicing automatic doors on ships and yachts. The company's head office is located in Trieste and is managed by his son Davide, whilst its branch is based in Miami, USA.

We meet him in his Trieste offices.

“In 2009 Centraltecnica will celebrate 30 years of business” he proudly reveals.
“Trieste is where we started our business, by installing residential electrical systems. We also had a radio and TV repair workshop. We installed centralised TV systems and aerials in all the main blocks of flats in Trieste.
From then on, we moved to the intercom and electric gates markets and, finally, to the automatic door market. When the first supermarkets started to expand, in 1985, we met Ditec (then trading as PA) and we started to install their automatic doors.
We gained experience and proficiency in the residential area, up until that strange phone call in 1992, which paved the way to new challenges on our first ship.
The ship was and still is the Statendam. Those automatic doors are still in place and fully operational today.
I must say we have serviced them well over the years! We have replaced some parts. We have removed the limit switches and added and encoder. But the beam and the main mechanical parts are still there, in full working order, after all these years.”

What made you decide to specialise in this tough market? We ask Giovanni.

“As always – he replies – my passion for this type of work and my desire to deal with top level customers, to develop new projects in a new and unchartered territory.

Appreciation for our work, our expertise, skills and, last but now least, our willingness to solve technical problems, has all helped us to overcome very hard times. These were our very first installations of automatic doors on board of ships. Many problems were cropping up and nobody had the answer. We have become the benchmark in sorting out many small, new issues experienced both in the shipyard and in the servicing areas."

But how many automatic doors are there on a ship?

“The number varies according to the ship. It can range from 12 to 62 automatic doors, such is the case of the Queen Victoria. “

In what way has today's automatic doors installation process changed compared to the past?

“We must identify two clearly separate stages of our work. The automatic entrance final installation and the actual design.
Strange as it may seem, we will start from the final installation.
After our initial pioneering time, a first era started, where we used to meet up with the ship fitters to plan all the work involved. We would then agree how we should work together on the bridges.
Nowadays the assembly work is more frantic and, in a way, has even got worse.
The working and operating times are controlled by strict rules. There are several companies which operate without talking and co-operating with one another. Many components arrive pre-assembled outside the shipyards, and we then need to dismantle entire structures to insert our doors. You must know that 95% of all installations are not visible, but are built in the false ceilings.
Sometimes we happen to lay cables only to find them cut, after a few days, because room was needed to fit bulkheads and components.
Fortunately, we have a wide experience and are therefore able to minimise problems by directly liaising with other companies involved in the project.
But the automatic entrance has also physically changed.
In the past, the automation needed to be fitted to an existing door frame.
Now, on the other hand, we supply the entire automatic entrance, including the wooden or steel frames, along with a series of technical, architectural and design changes agreed with the ship owner prior to their application.
This is our strength and what makes us different from many other companies operating in our industry.
Nowadays, many companies in the naval industry think that their jobs end once they fit the automation, the cables and the screws. In reality, this is not the case.
What is important is not simply the installation itself, but what comes before and after.
Let's talk about the automations, for example. We work with Ditec. We have tested Ditec's and other manufacturer's automations, but we have decided to stick with Ditec as we found them more reliable.
But when we receive the automation from Ditec, we partly strip it down to adapt it to the ships, and we add a number of special components we have developed over time in order to make them even more efficient and to improve their performance on board the ship.
Ships, and more so yachts, are subjected to on-going rolling and pitching.
Wind, sea salt, thermal expansion, strong and continuous temperature changes really test their operation.
For example, we have developed and patented some spring operated rollers in order to reduce the rolling effect, and some special runners, able to tackle temperature changes.
We fit electronic panels separately from the automation. In 95% of the cases, the automations are recessed and it is difficult to have the guard visible.
Brackets, mountings and cabling must be installed according to very strict fire standards.
Very often we insert additional electrical modules to synchronise the automatic doors and the air conditioning systems. In fact, the automatic doors are connected to the air blades. We connect the air blades control units to the radars to make sure they operate after the doors are closed.
By doing this, less energy is wasted and the air conditioning system and noise level are better controlled.
Another issue I mention with pride– adds Giovanni is finding a solution to a problem that shipping companies had to face, i.e. minimising the number of accidents on board. After this request - thanks to an in-depth investigation carried out by Davide - we have devised, designed and manufactured a number of sensors, all customised for each entrance, in order to increase system safety levels.
I would also like to mention the research and development we have carried out for ADA doors, i.e. automatic entrances for disabled, an area where we are industry pioneers.
But our innovation is far more reaching. I could mention our remote door stop system used to clean the door wings or, in the last ship launched by the shipyard, we have developed a triangular door with mirror finish polished steel frames, which is featured in a huge number of pictures.
We are very proud of this latest innovation.

These are just a few of the many technical solutions we have applied with the ship owners' approval.

In reality, nowadays we have become experts in electronics, door frames, carpentry, CAD design and standards.
All this happens BEFORE the installation and this is what makes us stand out from the rest and has enabled us to increase our market share."

And what happens AFTER the installation has been completed?

What comes AFTER comes under the servicing umbrella.
It all started with a well established international shipping company, which personally experienced the problems linked when many different servicing companies are involved, and therefore decided to select a single company to deal with all the door maintenance operations on their ships. By awarding us the servicing contract, they have enabled us to improve our image and market share.
To work more closely with the ships, we have decided to open an office in Miami.
I have had to learn English and to travel a lot.
It has been a huge commitment, but well worth it.
I now spend long periods of time abroad whilst our office in Trieste is now run by my son Davide, who also shares my passion.
I regard myself as a very happy father. Seeing a future for all my efforts, ensured by my children's commitment and skills, fills my heart with pride and makes it far more bearable for me to live far away from my own city."

We kingly thank Giovanni Bozic for agreeing to be interviewed and we take this opportunity to wish him all the best for his highly successful business.