Poerio (Tankoa Yachts) announces refit investments

SUPER YACHT 24 interviews Vincenzo Poerio, a manager who not only runs Tankoa Yachts but also serves as president of the Tuscan Nautical District and the Isyl Foundation (training). The discussion ranges from the boutique Genoese shipyard's superyachts to the most important issues facing the nautical world today.

Engineer, you have a rich history: from research with Cetena after your university studies, then Fincantieri, and finally the Inma shipyard, until meeting Paolo Vitelli in 1993, who asked you to work on the launch of the Benetti brand, where you remained for 26 years. Since 2019, you've been CEO of Tankoa: how did this last transition come about?

"From a meeting that year with the founder. The shipyard, both because it was founded in 2006, on the eve of the global crisis, and for other contingent reasons, needed a change of pace. So I found myself retracing the path I'd already taken with Benetti for almost three decades earlier: with a working group, we began by restructuring the management control system and introducing some new concepts."

What new concepts have been introduced?

"The main one is that Tankoa is positioned in a high-end segment, but with a 'boutique shipyard' philosophy that places it in a market that the major yachting companies tend to reject in favor of mass production. Being a slightly smaller size than these large shipyards allows us to customize our yachts more according to the owner's requests: a task that is nevertheless very demanding for any structure. We are willing to discuss any client philosophy, provided it is suitable. Another innovation was the introduction of vessels in the Tankoa range no longer starting from 50 meters, but from the 'entry yacht' of 45 meters – thus bringing the range to 45-80 meters, with exceptions for even larger boats."

Is the intervention of ever-changing great designers a coincidence or a strategy?

"I believe expanding the range of designers is the right choice because, thanks to their personal interpretations, we can also diversify our Tankoa style. I fundamentally try to have Italian designers: we've had a strong influence with Paszkowski, who has been with Tankoa for 10 years, but also with others like Dini, Cassetta, Mancini, and now Gobbi."

And what about those customers who want to decide everything?

"We don't shy away from custom contracts with them: we currently have a project underway with Philippe Briand, a sailing yacht designer, with whom we're building a vessel for a Canadian client. We're also building another custom based on the 45-meter design. When the client requests it, we adapt our model to their wishes; we can say that our typical client is precisely the one who wants a yacht 'his or her own way.'"

The yacht market is dominated by foreigners. What's happening in this sector around the world?

"Yes, absolutely, and if so, the Revenue Agency should be asking itself some questions. Italian clients are truly rare, even in large construction sites. The shows went well, I think for everyone, the atmosphere is still lively, and even the current inflation, which may be affecting the business of potential clients in our segment, isn't making a dent in their considerable assets and therefore isn't worrying them."

And how is the Russian market behaving? What do you think of the sanctions?

The war has damaged the market by 10% in the large yacht segment. Current contracts are continuing, having been signed—as always—through offshore companies, but new ones are naturally stalled. My feeling is that a way is being found to force the Russians to retreat to an already agreed-upon area that will be annexed by Russia, and therefore a deal will be reached at the table.

Are you worried about the cost of materials and supplies?

"Costs are still rising; there's an apparent phase of stabilization, but at high costs, and I believe it will be difficult to reverse them even when the situation returns to normal. I believe these increases are significantly influenced by the speculation of some manufacturers who, instead of increasing production of materials to meet greater demand, have increased their prices."

Tankoa has long expressed a need for more space, including in Tuscany. Is there anything new?

We're working with the City of Genoa to see if a large warehouse can be built in the area where we're currently located in Sestri Ponente, allowing us to add three more docks to outfit our boats in Genoa. Our philosophy is to build a few boats, each one different, and provide extensive training. And our plans for about three years include investing in services and refits.

You are president of the Tuscany Nautical District as well as Isyl; what do you think are the priorities for the nautical industry today?

Education is my passion; perhaps because I'm self-taught, I've always believed that experienced adults should feel the duty to pass on their knowledge to produce excellence and thus create the country's 'true wealth.' On the contrary, with the flight of talented individuals abroad, we no longer have the industrial strength we once did. And I also note that there are fewer and fewer qualified trainers. With Isyl, we offer a type of advanced training that I consider essential. Then there's also the training of trades, which is extremely important and on which I will focus immediately. I think that for every industrial sector, not just ours, the same thing should be done as was done with the ITS trades: creating specific training programs for young people aimed at their specific industrial sectors. Thanks to these institutes, we could train resources with new methods, enabling them to perform their jobs to the best of their ability, to use a computer, to work on board, and to acquire various skills. Today, our sector is in great need of these resources.

What are your proposals in this regard?

"Working with shipyards to approve training programs for the various professions and then providing thousands of hours of theoretical and practical training in companies. I have highlighted to the Tuscany Region the need for this step and the strategic importance of these courses for the country, both for the nautical sector and for all the other sectors, of which there are about a dozen. As president of the Tuscany Nautical District, together with Luigi Lazzareschi of Sofidel, we have attempted to bring together all the Tuscan districts to define common points of interest for appropriate investments and have informed the Region of this. To date, I have not received a response, but we are waiting for something to happen."

One of your proposals is the creation of a Single Nautical District between Tuscany and Liguria to unite the two forces and achieve greater results: what progress has been made?

"The President of the Liguria Region, Giovanni Toti, along with the Mayor of Genoa, Marco Bucci, came to Tuscany to discuss this project, demonstrating their interest. Today, the nautical industry expects substantial intervention from the President of Tuscany, Eugenio Giani, because the future of the sector could depend on his decisions. At this stage, the nautical industry is doing well, and this is precisely the moment to make the right choices for the future. We must think medium- to long-term, creating the conditions that will allow us to maintain our leadership for years to come."

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