Baglietto expands shipyard and targets acquisitions in carpentry

Baglietto is aiming to expand the space in the La Spezia shipyard, with an investment of over 20 million euros, but is also looking at acquisitions in the supply chain, primarily in the field of carpentry as well as in that of companies that make interiors for boats.

This was reported by Fabio Ermetto, chief commercial officer of the group that belongs to the Gavio family and specialises in the construction of yachts from 35 to 60 metres (although the manager does not rule out the possibility that a 70-metre hull may be built soon). In 2024, the company had a production value of 154.4 million (compared to 140 in 2023) and an Ebitda of 6.5 million (9.5 in 2023), with a forecast of 10% growth in turnover in 2025. It currently has 107 employees.

"In La Spezia," says Ermetto, "we are working to extend the yard, focusing on warehouses (today there are six, ndr) and infrastructure. Unfortunately, we are very limited in that area, because we are surrounded by other structures, so we have extended the yard by extending where we could, i.e. towards the sea (with two groynes built in 2023-2024, ndr), we are rebuilding all the larger offices and, at this point, the next step is to work on the sheds, to make them taller, longer and more modern, and also to build a new one. Also because the average size of our boats has grown and, right now, the market has returned a lot to custom, which for us represents 30% of production. Custom, moreover, on average concentrates on boats from 50 metres upwards; hence the need to expand our La Spezia infrastructure: we need to be able to support this slightly larger average size".

The project involving the refreshing of the yard and the new shed is part of the group's multi-year plan, presented to the Port System Authority of La Spezia, which foresees investments for over 20 million euro and has allowed Baglietto to obtain an extension of the state concession, until 2073. "In Carrara (where the company has another shipyard with 8 sheds, ndr)," Ermetto continues, "we already invested a few years ago and tripled the space; while now we are looking, for the time being as interested observers, at the supply chain, because it is important to understand if there could be interesting developments there, in terms of acquisitions. I am thinking, firstly, of carpentry and then of interior construction companies. Both categories, at the moment, are two weak links, which can very much influence the time it takes to build a boat.

That is why, he adds, "when we can, we do the carpentry in house, especially for boats up to 45 metres; this allows us not only to control quality, but also timing, which, as I said, is fundamental when we are talking about hulls and superstructures. So, we are reasoning on the possibility of bringing, more and more, this type of work in house. This means either evaluating possible enlargements of the infrastructure, and therefore having more space to build the carpentry in-house, or evaluating possible acquisitions".