Benetti has long had facilities in Viareggio, Livorno, and Fano, Italy. In fact, its first shed was established in Viareggio, along the street known as Via Coppino. That facility and, in turn, Benetti’s manufacturing capacity is being bolstered by a newly operational facility in the center of old Viareggio.
Referred to as Darsena Lucca, it’s the building with the blue roof above. Darsena Lucca is comprised of 4,200 square meters (45,208 square feet), with 2,550 square meters (27,448 square feet) under cover. Production-specific space amounts to 2,050 square meters (22,066 square feet). While the facility was built in 2009, Darsena Lucca, as Benetti refers to it, needed to be brought up to operational standards. With that being completed just recently, Darsena Luca welcomed its first hull in mid-June, shown below.
Darsena Lucca will focus on the Benetti Class series: semi-custom fiberglass megayachts from 93 to 164 feet. Specifically, the models are the Delfino 93, Tradition 105, Classic 121, Classic Supreme 132, Crystal 140, Vision 145, and Vision Supreme 164. Darsena Lucca can hold up to three Crystal 140s simultaneously. Benetti expects to have a Crystal 140 accompanied by two Classic Supreme 132s on site soon.
When that occurs, Darsena Lucca will effectively double Benetti’s construction capacity. It will also allow all of Benetti’s fiberglass megayachts to be made in Viareggio. On a related note, Darsena Lucca is awaiting an Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSAS) certification, which it expects by December. In short, OHSAS sets international standards for worker safety that several different companies strive to achieve. When certified, Darsena Lucca will make Azimut Benetti reportedly the first yacht manufacturer to have obtained OHSAS 18001:2007 standards. It outlines tolerable risks, steps required to address accidents and report them, and related items.
Benetti’s parent company, Azimut-Benetti Group, isn’t finished expanding facilities yet. It has construction sheds planned for Brazil and Turkey, too, since more buyers are coming from those regions.
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