Fernando Amerio founded the Permare Group in 1973 to provide marine services to the expanding Ligurian customers and the nearby Côte d’Azur. Later in the 1990s, the Permare Shipyard began producing boats under the brand name “Amer Yachts,” which would later become synonymous with quality and customization in the boats and ships segment. The Permare Group is a family business led by its founder Fernando Amerio and his children, Barbara and Rodolfo. In the last 40 years, the shipyard has created over 90 custom-built yachts for Italian and foreign customers. Amer Yachts have been exported to the United States, the Far East, the Middle East, and Arab countries. The shipyard also facilitates yearly training by partnering with several universities, including Bocconi, Istituto Marangoni, IED – European Institute of Design, and IAAD – Italian University of Design to stimulate growth, innovation, and research in design and, most importantly, educate upcoming designers about the significance of integrating environmental awareness into their designs. We recently got a chance to sit with Barbara Amerio, the SPP Ambassador of the Permare Group, to learn how the organization serves its clients with its luxury products.
Below are the highlights of the interview
Q) Please tell us about your professional journey.
Superyacht building is a fascinating work of creativity, innovation, and technology for a unique handmade good strong enough to survive decades at sea and under the sun. Italians are at the top of the industry, and our company is at the top of the list for semi-custom superyachts in composite and steel.
Q) Please tell us about Permare Company and how it is serving its clients.
They are exceptional, sophisticated, and talented businesswomen and men with previous experiences in yachting and with professional crews. Both want the best and agree with our theory to prefer a limited production for saving the high quality and the detailed finishes. This fact permits a plus value in case of reselling.
Q) How do you motivate creativity and innovation in the workspace while maintaining a healthy work environment?
With healthy competition, our shipyard incentivizes and invests in the human factor to grow our workers’ skills. It helps competent and specialized people become comfortable and ready to face new challenges and find unusual solutions and new ideas for Ameryacht’s product development and company strategy
Q) Please share the pandemic’s effect on the shipyard.
It was like an invisible war. We protected all the workers, giving assistance and free health insurance coverage just in case of covid illness for them and their families. We have worked for several months only remotely. Some activities have remained on for granting base services. Casually I have spent a few months living on board due to a home change, which has permitted me to discover the boat as a private and safe place. After the first covid wave, many people did the same thinking. Boat = freedom+ health place+ oxygen. This is the best explication for the new after covid boom in yachting, coming back to being close to nature and giving the right weight to actual values, like life, family, and a holistic vision, never seen the same in the past.
Q) What are the primary challenges of the industry? How are you tackling those?
Good question. In the past, profit was the primary factor used to assess a company’s performance, but now the focus has shifted in the opposite direction. Profit is viewed as a result of a company’s actions and ability to propose well-defined and targeted strategies toward stakeholders and shareholders. ESG goals serve as the roadmap for the future. Building a reputable image is crucial and cannot be purchased, as it can greatly impact a company’s ability to sell its products and services. Our clients adopt similar principles in their own companies, seeking to purchase ethical products with added value.
Q) What milestones and achievements are you most proud of today?
We are growing fast. We have obtained excellent multi-awarded results to be shared along 50 years of activity and more than 90 units sold and under construction. Thanks to our confident customers, we contribute to building their best time and holidays. We recognize that the time our customers spend with us is invaluable, and as a result, we hold a great responsibility to ensure their safety and sustainability while reducing consumption, emissions, water, and energy. We invest in various fields to bring innovation and collaborate closely with our suppliers to achieve this.
Q) What are your priorities for 2023 and beyond?
We are working on new projects and testing basalt fibers to create a new recyclable composite. We have nine semi-custom superyachts under construction, and we are actively pursuing several potential deals to expand the Amer community
Q) Give us a piece of advice that you would share with entrepreneurs just starting out.
To create a strong reputation is important to keep the word and create a smart team. Make your story a good example, and be part of the change by actions for a new sustainable world.