Benetti’s Lumina launch marks €100 million investment drive

The Azimut|Benetti Group has launched Lumina, the first model in its Benetti Class 44M series, in Viareggio as the shipbuilder embarks on a new €100 million investment programme over the next two years. Designed by Cassetta Yacht Designers, the 44-metre, four-deck superyacht is expected to be delivered within weeks.

The firm says the launch reinforces the centrality of the Tuscan district to the group’s superyacht strategy, set against considerable industrial growth, with production value doubling from €758 million in 2020 to €1.56 billion in 2025.

That increase in output has been matched by a growing Tuscan workforce, up from 442 to 607 over the same period. The most substantial expansion, however, has come within the supply chain: Tuscan sites now register 3,800 workers on site each day, drawn from a consolidated network of more than 1,000 companies working alongside the group’s in-house team.

Tuscany remains the operational core of Azimut|Benetti’s superyacht division. With 14 industrial sites across the region, in Viareggio, Livorno, Massa and Pisa, the area alone accounts for 70 per cent of the group’s global output.

Following €77 million invested in Tuscany over the past three years, the group has earmarked a further €100 million for the 2026–2028 period. The cycle is intended to expand production capacity, improve safety and consolidate the engineering and technological expertise that underpins the brand.

The programme spans several fronts: physical expansion through enlarged sheds, new travel lifts and reinforced production and safety systems, alongside an energy transition built around efficiency upgrades and photovoltaic installation. Beyond the yard floor, the group is redesigning its executive offices and client reception areas, sustaining investment in new models, materials and technologies, and bolstering the facilities behind its Lusben refit operations.

Alongside the structural investment, the group is recruiting specialist staff and backing training programmes aimed at both the design and construction of its yachts. Central to this is the ISYL Foundation – Italian Super Yacht Life, of which Azimut|Benetti is a founding member, through which it helps shape training curricula and pass on industrial expertise. More than 600 graduates have entered the industry through the scheme since 2015.

The launch also speaks to the group’s ties to Tuscany, where much of its production base and supplier network remains concentrated. Azimut|Benetti continues to frame that regional clustering as central to its competitive position, and the occasion served as a reminder of the direction set by its late founder, Paolo Vitelli.

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