Azimut Yachts secured €30 million in contracts during the lockdown period that affected production across Italy for several weeks before a recent easing of restrictions.
Azimut’s fleet will be boosted by the Magellano 25 Metri
The Azimut-Benetti Group said its return to “full-time capacity” – with increased shifts to make up for the lost weeks of production – followed a six-week process behind the scenes to ensure the safety of all employees, while working closely with union representatives.
Marco Valle, CEO of Azimut Yachts, said: “We never stopped. In fact, during lockdown, our international standing held us in good stead, allowing us to close contracts amounting to €30 million in orders, helped in no small way by our proactivity in geographic areas not yet affected by the pandemic.”
During this period, Azimut ran 17 interactive online courses on subjects ranging from technical to marketing and sales, involving 236 people throughout Europe, the Middle East and the Far East.
Marco Valle: “Our international standing held us in good stead.”
Azimut has also launched an online Virtual Lounge, which will host the brand’s first e-Boat Show from May 27-30, featuring Live Chat sessions and one-to-one video appointments with sales and technical specialists from the shipyard.
Franco Fusignani, CEO at Benetti, said he was also satisfied with the superyacht builder’s performance during the lockdown, especially as none of the workers at any of the shipyards contracted Covid-19.
“It hasn’t been easy, but we managed to keep business going with no serious setbacks,” Fusignani said.
Franco Fusignani: “We managed to keep business going with no serious setbacks.”
“Thanks to our facilities being located in different regions of Italy, we were even able to continue with production focused on April and May deliveries. At the same time, we ensured maximum protection levels for our workers through the adoption of all the safety procedures, enabling us not to have any Covid cases.”
Ongoing builds include Azimut’s much-anticipated Magellano 25 Metri and Benetti’s first Oasis 40 Metri, while Lusben, the Group’s refit company, closed a number of contracts to take the total number of boats being managed to 46.
Giovanna Vitelli, Vice President of Azimut-Benetti Group, said: “We are fortunate in that we are not only a strong company but also have substantial credibility at an international level. We want to draw on this as we play our part in upholding the precious ‘Made in Italy’ values and demonstrating that our country is on the road to recovery.”
Marine Italia represents Azimut in Hong Kong, Guangdong, Macau, Taiwan and Singapore.
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