Benetti’s new production area was inaugurated during the early morning hours of Thursday, 16 June, with the arrival of the first hull for construction. Together with the historic facilities on Via Coppino, the site has more than 4,200 m2 dedicated to the production of Benetti Class boats, the line of yachts from 93 to 164 feet built using composite materials.
Benetti Yachts new production area at Lucca dockyard
Directly overlooking the Lucca dockyard, the new site will be capable of accommodating the simultaneous production of three megayachts up to 140 feet, effectively doubling the boatyard’s current production capacity and enabling the entire line to be built in Viareggio, Italy.
Benetti's new production area at Lucca dockyard
The new structure will be soon running at full speed, thus making it possible for the owners of the first and second Classic Supreme 132’ and the next Crystal 140’ motor yacht to transform their nautical styles and instincts into reality.
This is a milestone for Benetti and represents a twin result that is doubly satisfying. On the one hand, Benetti is celebrating the success of its Class line, which saw its first models at last year’s Cannes Boat Show, and on the other, it is reinforcing one of its distinctive traits as a specialised Italian manufacturer, a trait that has come to be the boatyard’s motto: Italian excellence since 1873. Indeed for more than 138 years, Benetti and its yachts have been synonymous throughout the world with Italian boating style and excellence.
Benetti's new production area at Lucca dockyard, Visareggio, Italy
By expanding its production capabilities, the Azimut – Benetti Group is now taking strides to augment its presence at historical Italian sites with production facilities in Brazil and Turkey. This enables it to be closer to its customers in new boating markets, which, year after year, are becoming ever more important on the world stage.
Accordingly, the new project, while maintaining stylistic continuity with the older spaces, contains state-of-the-art technology that permits maximum workplace safety and reduces environmental impact, these being fundamental prerequisites for maintaining the boatyard’s high standards for workmanship. This includes the use of sound-absorbing materials on the interior and sound-dampening materials on the exterior, as well as temperature-control, fire-protection, and air-purification systems.
Azimut–Benetti is the first group in the boating sector to obtain certification for occupational health and safety management systems under BS OHSAS 18001:2007, having done so for all of its 12 facilities.
The Lucca dockyard will be certified in December, 2011.
