Rolla Propellers designs and manufactures marine propellers in Novazzano, in the Canton of Ticino, a few kilometres across the Italian border. The company’s registered name is Rolla SP Propellers Sagl.
The company was founded by Philip Rolla in 1983, following twenty years of operating under the name Record Propellers and manufacturing propellers for racing. That experience led to a move into a wider market, with the aim of bringing the same efficiency gains to high-speed production boats. In 2004, Rolla became part of the Twin Disc group, and since then has also been manufacturing propellers for bow and stern thrusters.
Rolla does not have a catalogue of standard propellers. Each propeller is designed specifically for a particular boat: the design process begins with the hull, the engine and the boat’s actual intended use, because a boat that spends most of its time cruising requires a different propeller to one designed for maximum speed. The technical department uses computational fluid dynamics simulations, drawing on a database of tests and applications built up over decades. The propellers are divided into two categories: fully submerged and surface-piercing.
The materials are certified and consist of NiBrAl – that is, nickel, bronze and aluminium – and steel. Over the past fifty years, production has shifted from 100 per cent steel racing propellers to around 80 per cent made of NiBrAl. For each project, a dedicated casting mould is produced, rather than reusing a mould designed for another propeller, so that the cast blank is already close to the finished part. Designs can be developed in accordance with the requirements of classification societies, including Lloyd’s Register, ABS and RINA.
In 2023, the Ticino Industries Association recognised the company’s 40 years in business under the name Rolla.