In mid-February 2026 we return to visit the headquarters and main production facility of Azimut Yachts in Avigliana, in the Turin metropolitan area. The air is crisp and dry, the sky perfectly clear, and the snow-covered mountains on the horizon appear sharply defined. Yet in this environment, so distant from the sea – about 150 kilometres from Savona, where the yachts built here are launched – vessels destined to navigate all over the world are produced.

Different collections take shape here: Magellano, Fly, Seadeck and, when required, also Verve and Atlantis. About twelve years ago the largest models produced at this facility measured around 21 metres. Only a few weeks ago, the first Seadeck 9 left the plant, approaching 26 metres in length.

This evolution has been made possible by a series of interventions that have transformed the site. The €50 million investment planned for the 2024–2027 period has not only made Avigliana more functional and welcoming – the architectural studio AMDL CIRCLE led by Michele De Lucchi designed the renovation of the main building and the construction of a new multifunctional pavilion – but also enabled several crucial technical upgrades. These include a new paint hangar and new automated vertical warehouses designed to store components ranging from engines to small hardware. Together, these developments contribute to making this yard at the foot of the Alps a distinctive production environment.

Nine months ago, a new General Manager was appointed to oversee this and the other Azimut Yachts production facilities – Viareggio and Fano: Andrea Antichi. Born in 1979 and trained as an engineer, Antichi built his professional path first through a short experience at Piaggio and then entirely within Ferrari. Joining the company in 2006 as a process technology engineer, he progressively assumed broader responsibilities until becoming head of the entire operational chain that transforms a design into a finished vehicle ready for sale. It is a professional background developed in an environment where product, performance and industrial method coexist at very high intensity.

PressMare – The first question for Eng. Antichi is almost inevitable: what is the main difference you have observed in these first months between the yacht industry and the automotive world?

Andrea Antichi – I approach this new role with a strong sense of responsibility. I believe the yachting sector is both complex and deeply fascinating. The complexity is not only technical; it is also human, cultural and identity-driven. This is not simply an industrial system with multiple variables to manage. Dynamics come into play that make the product something more than an object – something closer to a work combining art, technology and tradition.

Understanding this sector truly requires time, and perhaps it can never be understood completely. It requires respect, humility and awareness. Entering such an environment with the intention of rigidly applying traditional industrial models risks disrupting very delicate balances.

PM – What similarities do you see between the two sectors?

AA – I experienced similar dynamics in the world of special vehicles, which are not simply cars but technological works of art. I also saw mistakes made by people coming from highly structured industrial systems who tended to interpret certain aspects as inefficiencies when in reality they were integral to the value of the product. By intervening without understanding their nature, they ended up altering the very identity of the object.

At Azimut I have found important similarities, with a higher level of organisational flexibility compared with automotive, but with the same need to understand which “threads” can be rationalised and which must absolutely remain untouched. Intervening on the latter risks compromising the identity of both the product and the company.

PM – So the industrial yacht system will never be able to do without craftsmanship…

AA – Craftsmanship and industry will always coexist. Craftsmanship represents the real luxury in this sector. Industry should intervene where maintaining an inefficient approach does not provide a competitive advantage, but it must not compress the know-how that constitutes the essence of the product.

PM – How do you manage such a complex value chain without compressing that artisanal component?

AA – Everything starts from the product. Today I attend development meetings with great attention and listening, because expressing a mature judgement on a product like a yacht requires time. Even in the world of special vehicles it took years to develop a complete perspective. Here the complexity is different but equally intricate.

The cultural ability to manage “grey areas” – those not rigidly codified – is fundamental. In a standardised industrial system every node of the process repeats exactly what has been defined. Here it is different. There is a continuous creative contribution from the operator, which generates complexity but also value.

Many skills are not written in production cycles; they are embedded in people and in generations of experience. This knowledge must be preserved.

PM – Visiting the Avigliana production site we noticed how different it is from many other shipyards, where activities such as hull and deck construction are often outsourced to suppliers. Here the opposite seems to happen: the yard operates a strongly vertically integrated model where almost everything is done in-house, starting with mouldings. Why?

AA – The choice is not only organisational. First of all, it ensures the highest quality standards for the product, but it is also a technical decision. The hull, for example, is a strongly identifying element for Azimut because hull design has always been an area of research for us, allowing us to develop innovative waterlines.

PM – Are you referring to hulls such as the Dual Mode introduced with the Magellano?

AA – I refer to the high-efficiency hulls on which the shipyard has invested heavily to make them a distinctive element. These hulls are designed to reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions while ensuring performance, safety and pleasure of navigation. I am referring to Dual Mode and also to the D2P hull with wave-piercing bulb introduced on the larger models.

The quality of the fiberglass, the precision of the moulds and the control of the lay-up directly influence hull efficiency, seaworthiness and the behaviour of the yacht when used for cruising. We want to maintain complete control over these aspects to offer owners hulls with superior seaworthiness.

PM – Yet it is undeniable, looking at the average annual engine hours recorded by many boats, that yacht owners tend to navigate less and less, often just enough to leave the marina and anchor in the nearest bay.

AA – Even if part of the clientele uses the yacht for short day trips or weekend outings, the idea of being able to face challenging seas with your own boat – of extracting superior performance from your Azimut – remains a structural attribute of the brand. It is similar to Ferrari. Many customers never reach the performance limits of their car, yet when they buy it they are also buying the possibility to do so. That possibility is part of the product’s meaning.

The second part of the interview will be published tomorrow on PressMare and will focus on market strategy, design-to-cost methodology, production flexibility at the Avigliana facility, the hybridisation of the Seadeck 9 and the digitalisation of the industrial ecosystem.