1968 to 2000
In 1968, brothers Alessandro (1937–1996) and Norberto Ferretti (1946), sons of a fuel trader who also owned a car dealership in Bologna, decided to expand the business to the nautical sector after securing the Italian representation for the US motorboat brand Chris Craft. They subsequently opened a multi-window shop, Ferretti Nautica, in the city centre.[10]
The first self-built boat was launched in 1971 at a shipyard in Cattolica, using the hull of an 11-metre fishing boat.[10] This boat was presented at the Genoa Boat Show as Ferretti Craft,[11] marking the beginning of the company's first orders. Four years later, in 1975, the Ferretti brothers permanently abandoned the motor industry[11] and opened their shipyard in San Giovanni in Marignano.
Since the 1980s, production has focused exclusively on motorboats, incorporating advanced technological solutions, such as the thousand-litre tanks and the so-called "round shower".[10] In 1982, the company introduced its first motor-only boat and began producing sport fisherman open and flybridge type boats.[11] In 1987, when sales were already around a hundred boats a year, the Forlì shipyard was opened, which has since then also become the company's headquarters.[10]
In 1989, the Engineering Direction, a research centre dedicated to the design and development of new production boats and innovative materials, was founded.[11]
The company also entered the world of sport: Norberto Ferretti competed in Class 1, the most prestigious offshore category, with one of the first carbon-fibre boats, and in 1994 he became world champion.[12] In 1997 his team won a second world title.[10] In 1996, Alessandro died at the age of 54 in an accident, while mowing the grass at his villa in the hills of Bologna.[13]
In 1994, Ferretti Group began an international marketing process by establishing a strategic network of dealers outside Europe. During the second half of the 1990s, after institutional investors acquired a stake in the company, an external expansion strategy was initiated through the acquisition of companies producing luxury motoryachts.[10]
In 1996, Ferretti Group began operating in the segment of yachts with fibreglass flybridges, measuring 28 to 40 metres in length, through Custom Line S.p.A.[14]
In 1998, the Group purchased Cantieri Navali dell'Adriatico – CNA S.r.l., which specialized in building open type motor boats with the prestigious Pershing brand.[15]
During the same year, Ferretti Group entered in the sport fisherman craft segment with the acquisition of American company Bertram Yacht, Inc. – the Miami shipyard.[16] Bertram Yacht was sold in 2015.[17]
In 1999, Ferretti Group purchased CRN S.p.A., a shipyard specialising in the production of maxiyachts in fibreglass and megayachts with steel hulls and aluminium superstructures, measuring over 30 metres in length.[18]
2000 to 2010
In the year 2000, Ferretti purchased 100% of the capital of Riva S.p.A., a producer of luxury fibreglass yachts measuring 10 to 35 metres in length, both flybridge and open.[19] In June 2000, with the aim of further consolidating its growth and development process, Ferretti Group decided to list on the Official Italian Stock Exchange (MTA).[20] In 2001, the company was admitted to the STAR segment (High Requisite Share Segment) of the Borsa Italiana (Italian Stock Exchange).[20]
In May 2001, Ferretti acquired the assets of the Oram shipyard in La Spezia, where the new Riva production area would subsequently be built.[21]
In August 2001, Ferretti finalized an agreement for the acquisition of the Apreamare S.p.A. shipyards in Sorrento, a leader in the production of gozzo sorrentino boats measuring 7 to 16 metres in length.
In November 2001, acquisition of the Mochi Craft S.r.l. shipyard in Pesaro was finalized.
2009 to 2023
In 2009, to align to the new market scenario, Ferretti Group changed its organisational structure and undertook a series of strategic and operative actions. In December, with the aim of continuing to focus on its core business, the Ferretti Group sold its 60% holding in Pinmar S.L., a Spanish company specializing in painting mega-yachts to Irish entrepreneur Sean Ewing.[28]
In March 2010, Ferretti continued its divestment policy by selling 100% of Apreamare S.p.A., which included the nautical pole of Torre Annunziata (Naples), to the Aprea and Pollia families, the founders of the historic Sorrento brand.[29]
In January 2012, Shandong Heavy Industry Group-Weichai Power, a Chinese state-controlled manufacturer of excavators and tractors, acquired 58% of Ferretti Group for EUR 374 million. At the time of the transaction, Ferretti had a debt of EUR 600 million. The management was, in any case, reconfirmed by the new shareholders.[30]
In September 2013, the new Ferretti brand structure was presented, consisting of three product lines: Ferretti Yachts, Ferretti Custom Line and Ferretti Navetta.
