Fincantieri S.p.A. (Italian pronunciation:[fiŋkanˈtjɛːri]) is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014).[2] The company builds both commercial and military vessels.
Fincantieri designs and builds merchant vessels, passenger ships, offshore, and naval vessels, and is also active in the conversion and ship repair sectors. The company also owned Grandi Motori Trieste, which constructed marine diesel engines, but this was sold to Wärtsilä in 1999.[3]
Founded in 1959 as Società Finanziaria Cantieri Navali – Fincantieri S.p.A. as a State financial holding company,[4] part of IRI, the company became a separate entity in 1984.
Fincantieri employs a staff of about 10,000 workers at eight shipyards, two design centres, one research centre and two production sites for mechanical components. Another 10,000 people contribute to its supply chains.[citation needed]
Fincantieri successfully completed the acquisition of Manitowoc Marine Group from its parent company The Manitowoc Company, Inc. on 1 January 2009, which consisted of two shipyards in Wisconsin, including Marinette Marine, which built the first Freedom-class littoral combat ship. Fincantieri also purchased from Manitowoc Marine Group a topside repair yard in Ohio and one production plant in Wisconsin, making it one of the leading mid-sized shipbuilders in the United States for commercial and government customers, including the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard.[5]
Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard, formerly part of STX Europe, the Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world.[2]
In March 2015, Fincantieri won its biggest ever independent order from Carnival Corporation & plc in a 4 billion euro deal commissioning the company to build five new cruise ships.[6]
On 2 February 2018, Fincantieri announced an agreement for 50 percent of STX France valued at 59.7 million euro.[7]
In March 2018, Fincantieri established Fincantieri Services USA – a subsidiary based in Miami, Florida, USA.[8]
In 2024, as part of a framework for strengthening European Defence, including Naval Defence, Fincantieri took over from Leonardo, the naval armaments sector of Wass (Whitehead Alenia sistemi subaquei), to complete the acquisition Fincantieri made a grouping of 10 to 1 of the shares and carried out a capital increase with the issue of new shares worth 400 million euros.[9][10][11]
The capital increase operation is successfully completed on 11 July 2024.[12][13][14]
In June 2024, the construction of the 4th new generation submarine of the Italian Navy was confirmed, for a total order value of 500 million euros.[15]
On 18 July 2024, Fincantieri announced a partnership with Hera, for the optimized management of industrial waste produced on construction sites. This will allow Fincantieri to achieve ESG objectives within its shipyards.[16]
On 24 July 2024, Fincantieri received from Carnival a maxi contract worth over 2 billion euros for three cruise ships with almost 230 thousand gross tons to be delivered in 2029, 2031 and 2033 respectively.[17]
On 30 July 2024, in the half-yearly report, Fincantieri confirmed orders for 7.6 billion euros, compared to 2.1 billion in the first half of 2023, and higher than the figure for the whole of 2023 (6.6 billion).[18]
On 5 August 2024, The Italian Navy has ordered a new patrol vessel worth approximately 236 million euros from Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, the joint venture active in the defense business between Fincantieri (51%) and Leonardo (49%).[19]