Palumbo to move new build operations to Ancona
Palumbo Group, the Italian shipyard conglomerate, has recently announced the appointment of Francesco Carbone as its new general manager. We speak to Carbone about Palumbo's long-term strategy…
Palumbo Group, the Italian shipyard conglomerate, has recently announced the appointment of Francesco Carbone (pictured in slider) as its new general manager for the Palumbo yachting division. Carbone joins Palumbo from Admiral-Tecnomar, where he held the position of sales director and president of its American branch.
“Francesco knows the yachting industry from the bottom up,” comments Giuseppe Palumbo, CEO of Palumbo Group. “His professionalism, knowledge and experience over the international markets will be crucial to bring our yacht brands to the next aimed level. The recent acquisition of ISA Yachts confirms our long-term strategy.”
Before taking over the ISA shipyard in Ancona, Palumbo already had a strong presence in the Mediterranean with five different shipyards stretching from Marseille to Malta. However, the group had been lacking a presence in the Adriatic.
“The group had also been looking at acquiring a different well-known superyacht brand on the Adriatic,” explains Carbone, speaking exclusively to SuperyachtNews. “With the acquisition of ISA the plan is to move all superyacht new build production to Ancona. The other five shipyards will remain focussed on commercial shipping and refitting.”
Both ISA Yachts and Columbus Yachts, Palumbo Group’s two superyacht new build brands, will operate from the Ancona shipyard, with Columbus focussing on the 70m-plus custom sector and ISA focussing on the 36-70m lines for which it became well-known. However, while marketing of ISA’s existing ranges will continue, Palumbo will also be engaging in a period of redesign.
“The Palumbo refit model will continue to benefit from the use of the group’s full network,” continues Carbone. “Palumbo’s service is unique in the Mediterranean; with such a large network of facilities we are able to offer owners service wherever they may be – depending, of course, on size requirements. Refit remains the core business of the group, it is what allowed the group to grow so fast and will continue to be a long-term business focus.”
Central to Palumbo’s strategy moving forward will be the consolidation of its various products and the reintroduction of them to the market, 2017 will be an especially important year for Paulmbo’s new build brands. According to The Superyacht Intelligence Agency, Columbus Yachts currently has three vessels ranging from 60-80m in build and ISA Yachts has one 36m vessel in build.
Profile links
Click here to become part of The Superyacht Group community, and join us in our mission to make this industry accessible to all, and prosperous for the long-term. We are offering access to the superyacht industry’s most comprehensive and longstanding archive of business-critical information, as well as a comprehensive, real-time superyacht fleet database, for just £10 per month, because we are One Industry with One Mission. Sign up here.
