Massimo Perotti on Sanlorenzo’s World Enchantment

Born in Turin on October 26, 1960, Massimo Perotti was nonetheless finding out Economics on the College of Turin when he started his yachting profession at Azimut-Benetti Group in 1984. Working carefully with the late Paolo Vitelli, founding father of Azimut-Benetti, Perotti spent 20 years on the firm, the place he joined the Board of Administrators and have become CEO of Azimut.

In 2005, he acquired Sanlorenzo, the storied Italian shipyard based in 1958. Now Government Chairman of Sanlorenzo SpA – which additionally contains the Bluegame and Nautor Swan manufacturers, and the Simpson Marine dealership – Perotti has overseen the corporate’s progress from EUR 42 million in income in 2004 to EUR 930 million in 2024.

How did you take pleasure in this yr’s Sanlorenzo Elite Weekend in Phuket, the place you engaged with yacht house owners and the Sanlorenzo Asia Pacific staff?

The primary Sanlorenzo Elite Weekend was an amazing expertise for us, and for me personally, as I had the possibility to fulfill Sanlorenzo yacht house owners from throughout Asia in a beautiful setting.

With 11 yachts and 60 company and their associates attending, this occasion was a really particular alternative to spice up and strengthen the Sanlorenzo values and DNA – made up of craftmanship, innovation, magnificence and high quality – in a really relaxed and quiet atmosphere, permitting us to spend high quality time collectively sharing our yachting experiences.

Having accomplished the acquisition of Simpson Marine in 2024, how are you progressing with integrating the corporate and growing Sanlorenzo Asia Pacific?

We would like Sanlorenzo, Nautor Swan and Bluegame to have a worldwide attain and international branding all through the Asia-Pacific area. I feel Asia-Pacific would be the market with essentially the most progress within the subsequent 10 years.

I made a decision to purchase Simpson Marine as a result of Sanlorenzo is totally different from different builders. We personal Sanlorenzo Americas and the distribution in America. We personal Sanlorenzo Med, with workplaces in Monaco, Cannes, Palma de Mallorca and Malta. After shopping for Simpson Marine, we personal the distribution throughout Asia-Pacific. We’re the one shipyard doing this – so buying Simpson Marine was very a lot in our DNA.

What are your hopes for markets resembling Australia and Vietnam, the place Sanlorenzo opened new workplaces late final yr?

Sanlorenzo Asia Pacific’s workplace opening in Sydney additionally represented an essential milestone for Bluegame, which debuted in Australia with the model’s bestselling BGX63. Our enlargement into Vietnam, with the opening of a showroom in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis in collaboration with O2H2O Vietnam final December, was additionally a strategic transfer, offering entry to the rising luxurious market and the elite within the area.

Vietnam’s financial improvement and the rising variety of high-net-worth people create a novel alternative for us to supply our stunning yachts, addressing the wants of an increasing and extra prosperous clientele.

Within the APAC area, innovation and new expertise are main pattern drivers, as is the demand for extra superior navigation techniques. These are traits of Sanlorenzo yachts, along with magnificence, craftsmanship, luxurious and ‘Made in Italy’ model.

Why did you purchase Nautor Swan final yr and the way does it match into the Group’s rising portfolio of yacht manufacturers?

Nautor Swan builds merchandise we’ve by no means constructed and couldn’t construct. As the long run is about sustainability, Nautor Swan caters for this with its sailboats, whereas Sanlorenzo is pioneering inexperienced expertise utilizing methanol and hydrogen.

Additionally, Sanlorenzo and Nautor Swan are comparable in a number of methods – we produce a choose variety of boats at a premium worth for a membership of connoisseurs. We give attention to relationships, high quality, reliability, magnificence and a spotlight to element. We now have quite a bit in widespread.

I feel the acquisition represents an enormous assist for Nautor Swan by way of industrialisation and analysis and improvement, benefitting from the technological developments already in place at Sanlorenzo.

What have been the takeaways from Bluegame’s involvement within the thirty seventh America’s Cup?

The BGH-HSV (hydrogen help vessel) was designed by a staff of specialists, led by Luca Santella, and adopted the strict necessities of the America’s Cup Protocol. The boats are powered completely by hydrogen, with zero emissions, and have a variety of 180 miles. They have been in a position to fly on foils at 50 knots alongside American Magic and Orient Categorical groups on the racecourse in Barcelona.

We’re now utilizing our expertise of constructing these boats to develop a 20m Bluegame multihull, our first hydrogen-hybrid boat, combining the hydrogen expertise from the America’s Cup tenders with Volvo’s first IPS hybrid engine. And from our foiling expertise, we’re constructing Bluegame’s new BGF line of foiling catamarans, ranging from 35 to 55ft.

You’re the proprietor of the primary Sanlorenzo 50Steel, Almax, which makes use of inexperienced methanol and fuel-cell expertise to provide electrical energy and energy the lodge load. Why was the completion of this yacht so emotional for you?

I’m now 64. I feel again over 40 years to my first boat present, in Genoa. I used to be 23 and didn’t know something about boating. I met Mr Vitelli, who was the founder and head of Azimut at the moment, earlier than he purchased Benetti [in 1985]. I admired him as one of the vital essential entrepreneurs within the yachting trade. From then till now, I’ve beloved innovation in boating.

At Sanlorenzo, after I thought that we may – for the primary time within the historical past of yachting – construct a ship that might produce electrical energy with out carbon emissions, with simply water going again into the ocean, I assumed this was one thing very, very particular. It was like a dream that anticipated the long run.

I first had the concept on August 12, 2021, simply after the Covid-19 pandemic. I used to be on vacation and began pondering – as I often do after numerous sleep and recharging, about numerous new concepts. I used to be speaking with a Swiss shopper and buddy who was very targeted on the modifications in climate, air pollution and comparable matters. He mentioned: “Max, you retain going with these huge yachts, producing carbon and consuming power. Why don’t you do one thing about this downside?”

At the moment, my daughter Cecilia was with me. She prefers sailboats to motorboats, and he or she mentioned to me: “Dad, I feel he’s proper. We’re doing nothing about this downside.” The mixture of my buddy and my daughter pushed me to begin pondering, so I requested my Analysis and Improvement division about potential options.

After a few days, they defined the potential for utilizing gas cells. They instructed me that Siemens Vitality – who we have been working with on diesel-electric expertise – was the most important fuel-cell builder, however primarily for navy functions like submarines.

Siemens Vitality was in a position to convey hydrogen on submarines however had but to work out how you can do it on yachts. Then it discovered an answer utilizing ‘inexperienced’ methanol [also known as renewable methanol or bio-methanol], reworking it to hydrogen after which to power by the gas cell, which is a confirmed expertise.

We agreed with Siemens to construct the primary 50Steel with that system – which is unique to Sanlorenzo – and show to the world that this expertise is feasible. Later in 2021, we outlined our ‘Street to 2030’ and I’m proud to say we’re according to the targets we set.

At Boot Düsseldorf this yr, you outlined your partnership with MAN to develop bi-fuel propulsion utilizing each methanol and diesel, for use on the 50X-Area scheduled for 2027. Why are you so enthusiastic about this expertise?

I personal Almax, so if a buyer asks if they’ll discover methanol on somewhat island in Greece, I’ve to say that it isn’t at all times that simple. Though the producers and the expertise are able to construct full methanol engines, methanol is just not at all times obtainable now to non-public yacht house owners because of logistics.

Nonetheless, when you’ve got a bi-fuel engine, you need to use diesel for gas whenever you don’t have methanol. It permits flexibility. When it comes to accessibility, value and productiveness, I consider using inexperienced methanol mixed with the bi-fuel engine for propulsion and full methanol mills is the perfect answer for the subsequent few years.

We determined to make use of methanol for the bi-fuel engine as a result of it’s one of the vital promising alternate options for the way forward for maritime transport. It’s a liquid at ambient temperature, biodegradable and simple to deal with. It additionally doesn’t require devoted infrastructure, solely the difference of present services.

Moreover, if produced from renewable sources, inexperienced methanol is a carbon-neutral gas according to our net-zero targets. Sooner or later, we are able to transfer to full methanol engines when it’s extra available. The variety of vessels with inexperienced methanol engines and ‘inexperienced corridors’ for its use are rising, particularly in Northern Europe, the place inexperienced methanol is accessible for passenger ships. It’s already obtainable in over 100 ports globally.

Why are you so dedicated to sustainable expertise?

Once I think about the way forward for the boating trade, I take into consideration the younger generations who’re very delicate about sustainability and wish to change to greener options quickly. And with superyachts, you may have numerous social duty to be sustainable, so we expect it’s our responsibility.

Preserving this in thoughts, entrepreneurs like me are liable for anticipating the wants of the purchasers by growing new applied sciences. In the case of sustainability, we should lead the market and present the best way.

To take action, we should determine the suitable companions, prepared to alter the principles of the sport. This occurred for us with Siemens Vitality for the gas cell venture on the 50Steel, and MAN for the bi-fuel engine on the 50X-Area. All of us share the identical imaginative and prescient for a cleaner approach to be at sea.

Additionally, whenever you’re working in an organization that’s a pacesetter within the enterprise and also you’re recognized available in the market to be an innovator, folks with new progressive concepts come to you as a result of they know you’re open to such ideas.

As an illustration, the 50Steel Almax is filled with innovations. Individuals know the boat for the gas cell expertise, however the boat has different very particular improvements, such because the hidden engine room (HER) system. The one who registered the patent, one in all my technicians, got here to me with this concept of transferring the engine room down a ground, which may create another saloon. I’m good at understanding if an thought is sweet or unhealthy. If it’s good, I bounce on it with numerous power.

Over time, Sanlorenzo has launched many groundbreaking yacht designs. What do you consider have been the important thing ones?

Innovation has been on the coronary heart of Sanlorenzo since I purchased the corporate. I give it some thought constantly. However first, I’ll take you again to after I was at Azimut-Benetti and made two essential innovations.

Once I was 32, I invented the glueing of the window to the superstructure, as a substitute of utilizing steel to hitch them. It was crucial as a result of it meant you would make different-shaped home windows on smaller, mass-production boats. Then, after I was 42, I created the Azimut 68 with opening hull home windows on each side, an concept that was then adopted by different manufacturers.

Quickly after, I left for Sanlorenzo, which was a top-quality model, producing yachts as much as 100ft or 120ft in fibreglass. I wanted a brand new thought to seize the eye of the market. Beginning with a 40m yacht in aluminium or steel, I needed one thing glamorous, so we invented the terrace by the saloon and the primary cabin, one other revolution for our sector, once more then adopted by different manufacturers.

A couple of decade in the past, one other invention was the 42m 460GT explorer (460EXP), which debuted in 2015 and was the primary mannequin in a brand new product line that now has the 47m 500EXP. One other key improvement has been the uneven design, beginning with the SL102A planing yacht in 2018.

Perhaps essentially the most well-known is our SX line, with a completely new design that actually modified the paradigm of the market. We invented SX with our technical staff after the massive monetary disaster from 2008 till 2013, which actually broken the enterprise. It was a really unhealthy time, so we sat across the desk with no market, nothing to do, and requested what would prospects need after this disaster? What sort of merchandise ought to we make that can match future calls for?

The monetary turbulence had rid the market of consumers who purchased boats to point out off, not as a result of they beloved the ocean. Our prospects needed to spend time near the ocean, have water toys and play within the water, so we invented the lengthy open aft deck, as a substitute of a 1.2m swim platform. On the SX yachts, the aft deck can carry an enormous tender, which may be put into the water and depart an enormous terrace by the ocean.

We additionally angled the windscreen ahead, to create extra indoor peak and house for the grasp cabin on the primary deck. Little by little, we invented a brand new boat. Right now, SX continues to be the corporate’s most worthwhile line.

What else makes Sanlorenzo stand out from different shipyards?

We’re understated. It might appear stunning to consider a shipyard constructing superyachts as understated, however it’s true. Fashions in Sanlorenzo’s Yacht Division (the SL, SD, SX and SP fibreglass collection from 24-40m) don’t show the mannequin’s identify on the facet of the yacht.

Our prospects don’t like the dimensions displayed on their boat. They’re like a membership of connoisseurs, yachtsmen with expertise. They purchase a Sanlorenzo yacht as a result of it’s understated. It’s nicely constructed, very stable and custom-made – we name it ‘made to measure’ – plus it retains a really excessive resale worth.

Our yachts are heavier than our opponents’ boats, which suggests much less velocity and perhaps much less sporty, however rather more stable. If you happen to open the door of a Mercedes or really feel the seats compared to a BMW or Audi – each excellent high quality – the Mercedes is a step above.

A few of our opponents are producing a whole lot of boats yearly. We construct 70 a yr. The shortage is a part of the luxurious understatement and our house owners like that. I feel each model has its personal peculiarity. Sanlorenzo’s DNA stands on the pillars of high quality, magnificence, reliability, craftsmanship, shortage of product and quiet luxurious. I feel these qualities make us distinctive.

Sanlorenzo is a really design-oriented shipyard and companions with main artwork gala’s, exhibitions and galleries. How do you mix your help of artwork together with your yacht designs?

Design was the primary thought after I purchased Sanlorenzo. Firstly, the concept was to interrupt with the custom of at all times constructing with cherry wooden and all of the boats trying the identical.

We made an enormous splash available in the market as a result of we introduced in Rodolfo Dordoni, Antonio Citterio, Piero Lissoni (Artwork Director of the corporate since 2018), Christian Liaigre, Patricia Urquiola – all big-name architects and designers with new concepts. It was very simple for the market to know that Sanlorenzo was on the prime and persevering with to be on the prime with new ideas, together with the improvements of the designers.

If you happen to do one thing exceptional, folks come to you to search out out extra, so the connection to the design world was computerized. I began to have a look at the artwork world as a result of numerous my prospects have been on this space, and near artwork and design. Seeing our boats filled with artwork was inspiring, we determined to change into a companion of the unique artwork present, Artwork Basel, so we had Sanlorenzo VIP lounges on the gala’s in Hong Kong, Miami, Basel and Paris.

We’re additionally exhibitors on the Milan Design Week and gained our first Compasso d’Oro award in 2020 for our exhibition design (Sanlorenzo additionally gained in 2024 for the SP110 yacht). In 2022, Sanlorenzo and Valentino have been the primary sponsors of the Italian Pavilion on the Venice Biennale. On that event, I fell in love with Venice and determined to purchase a home in entrance of the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute that can change into the Casa Sanlorenzo.

Who has impressed essentially the most in your life, and who’re you inspiring?

Mr Vitelli and the Vitelli household are primary for me, for certain. He was there at the beginning of every part. I hope to encourage my son Cesare, who has been working in Sanlorenzo for 4 years. Extra not too long ago, my daughter Cecilia joined Nautor Swan, regardless that she at all times instructed me she would by no means work with me. Now, she has joined the corporate as a result of she needs to work for Nautor Swan.

I actually hope to have the ability to encourage them with my hard-working instance. They understood that if you wish to obtain one thing, you need to work onerous and actually sweat. Nothing is coming from the sky. It was particularly onerous work within the Nineteen Eighties as a result of at the moment, the yachting trade needed to be created.

Right now, it’s extra established, so I hope my youngsters gained’t should work as onerous as me and can take extra time for themselves. Inspiring them is my final huge hope in life and can be my final success. I plan to dedicate numerous my time transferring what I’ve learnt and constructed within the final 40-plus years, first studying from Mr Vitelli.

Nonetheless, I made the choice in 2019 to drift the corporate on the [Italian] inventory alternate so as to not pressure my kids to be managers of the corporate. They’ll resolve whether or not they wish to be managers or simply shareholders, and I feel that’s the perfect freedom.

Photographs courtesy of Sanlorenzo

apac.sanlorenzoyacht.com
simpsonmarine.com

This text was first seen on YachtStyle.com

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