Ferretti’s new chairman, Tan Xuguang, and majority-owner Shandong Heavy Industry Group-Weichai Group, told Chinese media that they were investigating the possibility of building a Ferretti plant in Qingdao (in China’s Shandong province) to produce vessels geared to the local market, according to an August 28 Bloomberg News report.

Earlier in August, a company press release announced the appointment of Xuguang as chairman and of long-time Ferretti executive Ferruccio Rossi, who most recently served as Ferretti’s country manager for the United States, as managing director. The press release also announced that founder Norberto Ferretti remained involved as Honorary Chairman.

Shandong Heavy Industry Group, a state-owned company, became a majority shareholder after acquiring Ferretti’s debt. The Italian boating giant, in recent years, had borrowed heavily in part to finance product development, and the sudden plunge in the new boat market put the company in financial difficulty. Ferretti executives welcomed the acquisition as a way out of a difficult financial situation, which would provide the company with needed liquidities and direct access to a new and growing market.

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