What were those times? 1968, when the Company Ferretti and boating in Europe was slowly picking up speed. 1987, when over 100 Ferretti yachts were sold in one year for the first time. In 1998, when the Pershing and Bertram brands were integrated into the company and two years later the legendary name Riva. Shortly afterwards, Mochi Craft and Itama were added, and in the meantime the company was referred to only as the Ferretti Group. Those were boom times, but they now seem miles away.
The Ferretti Group also stumbled during the financial crisis that began in 2008, restructured itself and has now had to take on board an investor who is causing some unease in the industry, to put it mildly. He comes from China.
The Shandong Heavy Industry Group/Weichai Group (over 40,000 employees worldwide) has invested a total of 374 million euros in the Ferretti Group, reduced the Italian company's debt to a "reasonable" level and thus acquired a 75 per cent stake in it and therefore also in the group's eight brands. In addition to those already mentioned, CRN, Custom Line and Ferretti Yachts are also part of the group, all of which are among the leaders in their niche and together form a length portfolio that ranges from around 15 to 80 metres.
"The yacht business is at the top of Shandong Weichai's strategic agenda for the next five years," says its Chairman Tan Xuguang, adding: "With its top products, sophisticated manufacturing and sales network, Ferretti is the ideal partner for this." Xuguang wants to offer the Italians capital, synergy opportunities and new marketing channels, particularly in China, while at the same time preserving the "Made in Italy" seal. The headquarters and production of all Ferretti brands are to remain in their home country.
A similar approach was taken when the French engine manufacturer Moteurs Baudouin SA was acquired in 2009. After Shandong-Weichai's entry, the sales result there quintupled from 74 to 352 engines and the number of employees almost doubled ...
And what does Ferretti Group founder Norberto Ferretti have to say about the new constellation? "I am very proud to now have such a strong partner and I am sure that we will reliably realise our growth plans on this foundation. In addition, the Shandong Weichai Group naturally opens up new sales channels for us in a market with huge potential over the next five to ten years."
In any case, the following months will show whether two people who could hardly be more different will grow together.
