Azimut Yachts

Paolo Vitelli founded Azimut-Benetti Yachts in Torino, Italy, in 1969. In 1983 the company had designed its first handmade model made of fiberglass, the 105’ Farlaka. The 105 Farlaka immediately began being mass produced and became a hot item on the Italian market. Shortly after, Azimut had developed a solid reputation for their “pleasure boats” and became one of the leading Italian brands in the industry. In 1985 Azimut took control of the historical Benetti Brothers shipyard in Viareggio. Azimut was able to successfully inherit the Benetti Brothers shipyard, an Italian landmark, because of Vitelli’s careful planning and investing, which thus allowed them to launch approximately 60 different models of yachts in the next 20 years. In 1999, Vitelli’s smart investing yet again led them to take control of the Moschino dockyards in Fano, open a service and delivery center in Savona, completely refurbish the Benetti shipyards in Viareggio (when they changed their name to Azimut-Benetti), and open a new industrial plant in Avigliana which equaled 100,000 square meters. The Avigliana plant is where they continue to produce approximately 350 yachts, ranging from 12 and 21 meters long, per year. Azimut-Benetti is a leader in the yacht industry and continues to expand and take part in development in order to expand their empire.