Next Yacht Group
The headquarters for the AB Yachts and Maiora brands has visibly expanded thanks to the takeover of the historic Perini Navi halls on both sides of the Viareggio harbour basin. During the summer, facade painters were still in the process of covering the Perini blue with the brown colours typical of the brand. The Next Yacht Group received the necessary financial injection, an amount in the double-digit millions, from its new parent company: the Austrian GB Invest Holding is a major player in the IT, property and hotel sectors. A breath of fresh air is now blowing through the buildings, including the new 3,000 square metre showroom with a professional kitchen and various conference rooms, which welcomes visitors in the style of a superyacht, including a terrace with a view of the harbour and the long sandy beach.
Together with the Massa site, where hulls are laminated, the shipyard now has 65,000 square metres of construction space available, worked on by 115 direct employees - a threefold increase compared to 2020/21. In addition, there are 400 to 450 subcontractors. In July 2025, a total of 21 units were under construction, including an AB130 with a delivery date of 2026 and the yachts that are already on the quay and being finalised. For example, the first unit of the AB110 (page 72) with an open saloon wheelhouse.
The high-performance, waterjet-powered AB yachts have been around since 1992, and today the portfolio includes models between 80 and 166 feet. Maiora's flybridge models start at 30 metres, while a brand new 42 - with a cassetta design - is intended to turn traditional layouts on their head by placing all the suites on the main deck and significantly shrinking the saloon. "It's often not used that much," says PR and Communications Manager Stefania Delmiglio, explaining the concept. The free space on the lower deck benefits the crew, and a gym or another lounge would also be possible here. Life on board takes place in the huge upper deck saloon or on the outdoor terraces with pool. The interior was designed by Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab - also a new business partner of the Group.
Benetti
The Azimut Benetti Group shipyard here on Via Michele Coppino has a large, approximately 60 metre long hall with a floating dock and a total of two to three construction slots. One Class 44 is under construction and one has just been approved. During the on-site visit at the end of July 2025, the newly launched "Fortitude" was still teeming with workmen moving from room to room with rags and sandpaper in their hands. Various pieces of seating furniture stood covered in the middle of the salons and suites: the very last work on board the Cassetta design, which will enrich the charter market from now on under the direction of a British owner - the 44 is his third (!) Benetti. The shipyard continues to build GRP yachts here in Viareggio, including the Class 44, the Oasis 34 and 40 and the Motopanfilo 37. The longer models have steel hulls and are therefore built at the largest site, a good 40 kilometres further south in Livorno.
Much here remains the same: the Lusben team, which takes care of refits and other work at both locations, the names of the designers and the core segment between 40 and 100 metres. What has changed is the age of the owners. "They are getting younger and are now 50 years old on average," says CCO Daniela Petrozzi. They come from the IT sector and often have a more technical approach. Often a family stays connected to the brand, the young owners come via their fathers, who have also been Benetti customers for some time. They want to use the yacht with their children and appreciate the close contact with the water. This is also a reason for the success of the Oasis line of 34 to 40 metres. In addition to the major markets of Europe, the USA and the Middle East, the company is looking to expand into Australia via a new sales manager - an exciting market for Benetti.
Giangrasso
Practically opposite, on the corner of Via Euro Menini, the boss himself welcomes visitors. Bartolomeo Giangrasso was a production manager, ship surveyor and captain and worked for Benetti and Baglietto before opening his own shipyard in 2008. His company rests on two pillars: Cantiere Navale Giangrasso carries out refits - currently a Wally 64, for example - and builds for other brands. The second pillar, the Giangrasso Group, builds its own yachts. At the time of the visit, the first 24 metres were being finalised in the hall 200 metres from the office. The G24 has since been completed and launched in September 2025.
The portfolio includes five other classic models. "Made of aluminium, that's the future," emphasises the boss. "I personally don't like GRP, it's not sustainable." For "really good boats", he is prepared to accept the approximately 20 per cent higher construction costs. The G24 with four guest suites and a fly deck is to go into charter operation and has been fitted with two MAN engines for a top speed of 24 knots. "Only 18 months to build since the keel was laid in May 2024," adds Giangrasso proudly.
Read also:
Another 24 metre - with an interior by Michela Reverberi, designer of the "Stella Maris" (73 m, Viareggio Superyachts) - is in the planning stage, as well as projects of 34 and 45 metres in length, which are currently attracting interest from customers in Eastern Europe. Giangrasso shows a 65-metre design with cinema and owner's pool on his screen. His hall, which is around 38 metres long, is just long enough for yachts of this size, after that it will be tight. This is another reason why the boss has purchased additional space and is expanding in the direction of Massa and Pisa.
Giangrasso makes a point of only investing his own capital, i.e. money that he has. "No bank loans," he says firmly. The brand works with four designers and five interior designers, including his daughter. His brother has also joined the company as head of marketing. Giangrasso employs a total of 45 people, "I work with my own team," he explains.
Cantieri di Pisa
As the name suggests, this address is in Pisa, and has been since the mid-1950s. Exactly on the canal where the shipyards from Viareggio are slowly moving in. "We were the first here," confirms CEO Marco Massabò. The active sailor has been managing the construction site for around three and a half years - "my fifth shipyard" - and has a soft spot for materials. The 40-metre yacht that is currently being built in his largest hall - a total of 16,000 square metres of covered construction space - is a steel and aluminium construction with a carbon wheelhouse to lower the ballast and increase stability. He swears by conventional solutions for the drives: "Electrical engineering is not yet ready for this type of yacht. I remain sceptical, but we are keeping a close eye on the developments that the market is producing." His principle is: "Reducing weight means reducing consumption." In his opinion, this is the best way to be sustainable. It is important for Massabò to emphasise that the company is on a solid footing and that he relies on a strong team. 30 employees work on site, plus 250 to 300 employees via subcontractors. Massabò has three lines in his portfolio: the Polaris (38 to 70 metres), which with its two large outer decks is a bit of an explorer, and the classic Saturno with lengths between 38 and 90 metres, a design by Cantieri di Pisa. Number three is the Akhir, in which the team has invested one and a half years of development work. The first, 44 metres, came into the limelight as an "iconic boat" at the trade fair in Dubai and aims to build on the success of the style-defining designs of the same name by Pierluigi Spadolini.
An increasingly important pillar is the refit department. The shipyard can look after 25 yachts up to 50 metres in size at the same time on an area of 50,000 square metres. This year, the boss has a total of 35, with one Feadship and a 43-metre Perini Navi leaving the site in July. In September, five new 42.6-metre boats arrived from NQEA Yachts. "We have already signed many contracts for the coming season," says Massabò. This shows that the market appreciates his quality. His location is sometimes a logistical challenge for sailing yachts, as the canal bridges only have a clearance height of 11.45 metres. The team had to lay the Perini's mast in Livorno and then transport it separately from the ship.
For the larger projects, Massabò has now entered into a strategic partnership with T. Mariotti from Genoa. The holding company builds cruise ships up to 182 metres in length and offers Cantieri di Pisa corresponding workplaces. At the Piombino site - 40,000 square metres, including 11,000 square metres in halls up to 120 metres long - yachts from 50 metres are to be built, as well as large-scale refits: "We could compete with names like Lürssen or Feadship."
Mangusta
Back in Viareggio. The Overmarine Group, based in Via Marina di Levante to the south, is celebrating its 40th anniversary there. The expansion to the Navichelli Canal is also a big topic for the Mangusta brand. "We have doubled our capacity there," says Head of Communications Arianna Toscano. Since 2012, the shipyard has also been located in the industrial estate outside Pisa, where it specialises in metal construction. There is plenty of space there, between the airport and IKEA, and the canal leads directly to the coast of Livorno and therefore also to Viareggio.
The Mangusta Oceano 44 (number six was launched in August), the 50 and 52 as well as the GranSports 45 and 54 are currently being built at Navichelli. "We have built 20 metal units in twelve years," says Toscano with satisfaction. In Viareggio, where the yachts from Pisa also receive their finishing touches, the focus remains on GRP. The construction sites in the two halls, which are around 100 metres long, are fully occupied. This is where the Mangusta Gran Sport 33 (the twelfth and last), two new 34s and the Mangusta Oceano 39 (numbers five and six) are being built.
The brand expects twelve deliveries in 2025 and currently has 26 units under construction. An office for customer support in the USA emphasises the importance of the market for Mangusta. "50 per cent of our production goes there," explains the experienced communications expert. As with Benetti, the customers here are also getting younger, some of them are under thirty. There are also many returning customers who are already ordering their third Mangusta and "grow with us", reports Toscano. They in particular appreciate the special approach of a family business and the direct line to the top: "Every customer has the boss's telephone number."
