Benetti Celebrates 140th Anniversary

After the death of Lorenzo, his two sons Gino and Emilio took over the management of the boatyard whilst changing its name to Fratelli Benetti and quickly building up a reputation that extended far beyond the Mediterranean.

After the Second World War, with the disappearance of commercial sailing vessels built from wood, Benetti changed direction and began producing pleasure crafts made from steel; until the first superyacht, built in the early 1960s, changed the company’s path entirely.

Since 1980 the fleet has included large motor yachts in the 30 to 60 meter range and beyond, including the famous 86m ‘Nabila’. In 1985 the Boatyard was acquired by the celebrated Turin-based boat builder Azimut Yacht, which brought in new management and transformed Benetti into the modern, technologically advanced reality we know today: a forward-looking and innovative boatyard, but also one that proudly retains its traditional values of experience, skill and a passion for fine craftsmanship.

Today Benetti utilizes its expertise to design and build fully custom displacement and semi-displacement motor yachts in a broad variety of lengths from 93 feet to 90+ meters. Over the years the shipyard has grown and changed, not following but anticipating the times. Given that the Fratelli Benetti boatyard was famous for building three-masted wooden schooners for commercial use.

“This year will not only be the 140th anniversary of Benetti, it will be also the 10th anniversary of the acquisition of the Livorno Shipyard bought from the Orlando family. We plan a dense calendar of events culminating next June in Portofino with a very exclusive week-end together with our clients from all over the world. Owners that do not come to us to buy a ready made yacht, but to construct one together with us in order to fully express their personality and live a genuine rapport with the sea. Clients who approach us with ideas and expectations that are a challenge and a continuous stimulus and when we meet their brief and make every detail perfect with no concessions to compromise, their success becomes ours. This level of quality and passion are the only route to our next 140 years of success”. – commented Ing Vincenzo Poerio – Benetti’s Ceo.

140 years of history, close to 300 boats built, over 300,000 sq mt of production facilities at six shipyards in Italy (Viareggio, Livorno and Fano), 34 yachts under construction at present time including a 90-meter mega yacht.

These facts and figures unambiguously demonstrate the momentum of Benetti’s growth and Clients’ unrestrained confidence in the brand. It is a success story confirmed by the last “Global Order Book” that awarded Azimut|Benetti Group as the “largest builder in the world for custom yachts over 24 meters” for the thirteenth year in a row.