Arcadia was launched in Naples in 2008 and delivered its first yacht two years later. Sole director Ugo Pellegrino comes from a family that had made its fortune
in trading bulk goods, from oil to plastics. “But the family grew up, so it was necessary to produce more revenue,” he explains with a shrug.
“We started everything in the boom period, buying the buildings in July 2008.” When asked if he had second thoughts when he saw the credit crunch taking hold in
late 2008 he replies, “Every hour”, with the smile of a man who knows he has weathered the storm. “But passion and a willingness to try something new drove us on.”
Arcadia had enough capital to hunker down. The first A85 was completed in 2009 and shown at the Düsseldorf Boat Show in early 2010. “We sold it at 10.10am
on the first day of the show,” Pellegrino says through another smile. “Ten minutes after opening. It is an unbelievable story.”
The business is stable now, he says, although revenue comes in waves with the delivery of each boat – not a small problem when you have a 35 metre on the books
at over €11 million. Arcadia turns a net profit, at least, and is already looking for new premises to expand production. “We already have 18,000 square metres under
cover,” says Pellegrino. But the building of the new 47 metre superyacht will require more space. “We build on an island basis, with the skills needed for each boat
installed around it.”
Riding out the storm
http://www.boatinternational.com | April 2018