Adnkronos Rome, May 16 (Adnkronos) – The Assembly of Members of Confindustria Nautica today elected Piero Formenti as President of the National Association of the category for the four-year period 2025-2029 with a significant 94,4% of consensus, equal to 15.622 votes, after having collected the designation of a very large and widespread majority by all nine Sector Assemblies in the consultation phase of the Members by the Designation Commission established pursuant to the Statute.
“Participation”, “rules” and “unity of purpose” are the guidelines outlined by the new President in a strong inauguration speech, all oriented towards overcoming any reason for belonging, towards a common direction, towards all Members taking charge of spreading Confindustria culture in the territories.
“Let the first ever president expressed by the Small Nautical Industry Sector tell you: we must overcome any reason for belonging and first of all affirm the element of great strength, visibility and capacity to attract to the benefit of the entire supply chain by the Large Nautical Industry, which has a particular ethical responsibility and promotion of business culture. Large Industry that I call for maximum participation in the associative life” – Formenti began – recalling that “around this strong core, we must promote the value chain of our entire supply chain – Engines, Components and Accessories, Ports and dedicated Services, Charters, Sales Networks – which must also be supported with specific promotional initiatives. It is undoubtedly a strong point of our Association, an indissoluble chain, where each link contributes to the common value”.
Our commitment to Ebi (European Boating Industry) and Icomia (International Council of Marine Industry Associations), to the Technical Groups of Confindustria ('Europe', 'Sea Economy', 'Internationalization', 'Sustainability', 'Protection of Made in Italy', 'Tourism and culture'), to Federturismo Confindustria and Federazione del mare are part of this logic of a unitary vision. A strong industrial system is the necessary condition to operate effectively in a difficult international context, with respect to which there has been no lack of a call to listen to the European institutions, the confirmation of the fruitful dialogue with the Government, the Customs and Monopolies Agency, Ice, the General Command of the Port Authorities and the stigmatization of "the silence of the Revenue Agency on leasing, which in these last two years has become nothing short of deafening".
“My warmest congratulations to President Meloni for having brought the America's Cup sailing to Naples, a coup that simultaneously supports sailing, sports and the South” – underlined the new President, who closed with what he defined as “the most delicate and urgent issue: training. Confindustria Nautica intends to disseminate with renewed commitment the professional opportunities that the sector offers to young people and find new ways to train specialized workers and promote the culture of sailing and boating”.
At the Public Assembly – with Daniela Santanchè, Minister of Tourism, Edoardo Rixi, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Ricardo Rigillo, Chief of Staff of the Minister for Marine Policies, Mario Zanetti, Confindustria Delegate for the Marine Economy – the 6 Milestones of the 2025-2029 Nautical Plan were presented – Industrial role and tourism related industries, Technological innovation and sustainable transition, Protection of Made in Italy and market surveillance, Regulatory simplification and fiscal competitiveness, Maritime culture, in addition to Training – which will be developed in the coming months by the sector assemblies. The General Council approved the team of Vice Presidents, with three new appointments and one confirmation, two of which are already sector Presidents. “I presented a proposal certainly based on the associative balances and the main production areas of the country, but strongly focused on the strategic lines of the program, redrawing the usual areas of delegation”, explained Formenti.
Two new features, Professional training and sea culture, entrusted to Eng. Vincenzo Poerio (CEO of Tankoa Yachts), and Southern Italy Development and Zes, which are added to Internationalization, delegated to Dr. Marco Monsurrò (CEO of Coelmo SpA); European Representation is combined with national legislation and entrusted to Dr. Fabio Planamente (Partner and Board Member of Cantiere del Pardo SpA), Promotion of Made in Italy and Business Networks is confirmed to Dr. Alessandro Gianneschi (CEO of Gianneschi Pumps and Blowers Srl) who also acquires Associative Development.
Furthermore, Marco Valle (CEO of Azimut Yachts) was appointed directly by the President to complete the General Council, as he is empowered to do by the statute, and the Director Dr. Marco Cappeddu (European Union Office – Fincantieri SpA), given his specific professional skills, was entrusted with the ESG Objectives, Ecological Transition and Raw Materials Project.
"Recreational boating - Santanchè underlines - has a central role in the relaunch of national tourism. In 2024, there was a 2% growth in moorings, with positive forecasts for 2025 (+2,9% permanent, +3,2% transit). The sector generates 8,3 billion euros in turnover and, with the supply chain, over 210.000 employees, confirming itself among the excellences of Made in Italy. We have started interventions for the redevelopment of tourist ports, the strengthening of digital connectivity and the integration of services via app and we are working to make boating more accessible and sustainable, promoting international events such as the America's Cup in Naples in 2027, an event that can make the difference, not only for the South, but for the entire nation".
"In the White Paper “Made in Italy 2030” that we will present before the summer, we recognize the nautical sector as one of the new pillars of national industrial policy, alongside the historic sectors of food, clothing and furniture. In this perspective, the Ministry firmly supports the path towards sustainability, through non-repayable incentives for decarbonization and structural measures within the Transition 4.0 and 5.0 and Nuova Sabatini programs", adds Urso.
"The recreational boating sector - Rixi underlines - is experiencing a relaunch phase thanks to important regulatory and administrative interventions. Among the main results are the new D1 license, the simplified title for rental and the strengthening of the electronic register. Widespread digitalization and a process of European harmonization have been launched, with the aim of simplifying the management of vessels. Work is also underway to recover port areas for recreational boating and to create new landing places, particularly in less served areas. The Genoa International Boat Show confirms its strategic role at an international level. Promotion of the sector among young people and regulatory simplification to encourage the use of the Italian flag are also priorities".
"The Department for Marine Policies has the mandate of a vision of perspective and coordination between the competences divided into about ten ministries. After the Sea Plan, in recent days the underwater dimension bill was introduced and the one on the Valorization of Sea Resources is about to be stamped, which, also thanks to the contribution of Confindustria Nautica, contains a package of updates to the Nautical Code", underlines Rigillo.
"The sea is a strategic asset for Italy. The maritime economy is worth more than 10% of GDP and employs more than a million people. Thanks to the establishment of the Ministry of the Sea, there is now the opportunity to develop a dedicated industrial policy. Infrastructure updates, skills and simplification are triggers for development. In recreational boating, as in merchant shipping, we must streamline the Italian flag. On July 15, a position paper will be presented with concrete proposals to strengthen the entire cluster", underlines Zanetti.
"Pleasure boats are one of the spearheads of the "new surpluses" with foreign countries of Made in Italy, together with cruise ships, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, optical and cosmetics, from 2019 to 2024 the contribution of the nautical sector (+1,8 billion euros) to the growth of the overall Italian manufacturing surplus (+12,5 billion) was 14,3%", Fortis underlines. "Italian exports of pleasure and sports boats - Fortis recalled - have increased a lot in the last ten years, from 2014 to 2024 (+119% in value), more than double the national manufacturing exports as a whole (+55%), reaching a historical record of 4,3 billion euros". Banca Bper, adds Porcari, "actively supports recreational boating, supporting both large shipyards and SMEs in the supply chain with tailor-made financial tools, such as reverse factoring and support for internationalization. In collaboration with Rina and Confindustria Nautica, it will launch an ESG platform to evaluate sustainability performance and facilitate access to subsidized financing. Recreational boating is recognized as an economic and strategic lever, at the center of investments and innovation for the future of the country system".