“Refit remains fundamental to our work, but Upfit reflects something broader,” explains Antonio Palumbo, CEO of Palumbo Upfit. It’s the new name for Palumbo Superyachts Refit, reflecting the changing relationship the division has with captains and owners.
With facilities in Italy, France, Malta, and Croatia, Palumbo Superyachts Refit has been the specialized division of the Palumbo Group for many years. Dating to 1967, Palumbo Group itself started out repairing commercial vessels in Naples, Italy. Similarly, the superyachts division began with refits and repairs. As customers returned for other work, naturally seeking yard periods for other reasons, the business model evolved. Palumbo Upfit therefore unites those services with technical upgrades and structural work, for instance, plus interior modifications. It’s further bringing seasonal stop-overs and significant conversions under the same umbrella. “We did not feel the need to change what we are,” Antonio Palumbo points out. “We felt the need to give a name to what we had become.”
Simultaneously, since the facilities operate as one network, the management team believes they’re better suited to working with megayachts beyond a single yard visit. According to the company, it’s the largest network in the Mediterranean. It includes 10 drydocks up to 879 feet (268 meters) long, plus seven floating docks. The network additionally unites four mobile hoists and a Syncrolift with a 3,300-ton capacity. Altogether, the facilities spread across more than 110 acres (44.5 hectares), including upland sheds. Owners and captains can plan a handful of small or complex projects in phases, choosing the site that best suits the stage and closest to where the yacht will be. Furthermore, because of the one-network approach, knowledge sharing happens across the facilities.
Of course, preventive measures are part of what Palumbo Upfit also intends to advise customers to take. For example, the craftspeople believe they can identify possible future issues and provide insight into how to stave them off.
Although the name has changed, the company itself has not. “We remain a family-led Group, with the fourth generation now involved in its management,” Antonio Palumbo notes. “As our Group has grown, that direct involvement has become even more important.”
Palumbo Upfit https://www.palumbosy.com/
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