On March 28th, following the Board of Directors of Naviris, the joint venture between Fincantieri and Naval Group, various nominations were announced.
Pierroberto Folgiero has been appointed Chairman. Damien Raby, appointed Chief Executive Officer and Enrico Bonetti, reappointed Chief Operational Officer, will run the joint venture. Parent companies are equally represented on the Board of Directors.
Pierroberto Folgiero is also Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Fincantieri since 2022.
Created in 2020, Naviris is a 50/50 joint venture, with half of the employees Italian and half French. With the head office located in Genova and a subsidiary in Ollioules, the Naviris team focuses on bi-national and export projects.
Naviris was created on the belief that the collaboration in the European naval industry is essential in allowing the European continent to be a leader in the strategic sector of naval defense, either for its own needs or for those of its allies.
Since its creation, Naviris has been working on different key projects. In July 2020, Naviris signed a contract with OCCAR, the European Joint Armaments Cooperation organization, for a feasibility study on the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the four French and Italian Horizon frigates. The studies have been completed and delivered to OCCAR. On the same project, currently Naviris in partnership with Eurosam is dealing the negotiation phase with OCCAR in order to get the main contract covering the MLU for the four frigates.
Naviris also signed a 4-year contract regarding R&T with OCCAR in June 2020 for joint research activities, but also the upgrade of design and production process for the vessels destined to France, Italy and their export. As prime contractor, Naviris coordinates technical activities managed by Fincantieri and Naval Group and owns the intellectual property of all the research findings.
Naviris’ work also includes the development of the European Patrol Corvette (EPC). In July 2022, the European Commission selected the proposal submitted by the consortium led by Naviris together with Fincantieri, Naval Group and Navantia for the Modular and Multirole Patrol Corvette (MMPC) call. The objective of the consortium’s proposal is to maximize synergies and collaboration among European shipbuilding industrials. By developing together a new ship, the EPC, they aim to ensure a European sovereignty in the second rank warship. Naviris paves the way to the consolidation of European naval defense in response to the increasing pressure of worldwide competitors.
Fincantieri is one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups, the only one active in all high-tech marine industry sectors. It is leader in the construction and transformation of cruise, naval and oil & gas and wind offshore vessels, as well as in the production of systems and component equipment, after-sales services and marine interiors solutions. Thanks to the expertise developed in the management of complex projects, the Group boasts first-class references in infrastructures, and is a reference player in digital technologies and cybersecurity, electronics and advanced systems.
With over 230 years of history and more than 7,000 ships built, Fincantieri maintains its know-how, expertise and management centers in Italy, here employing 10,000 workers and creating around 90,000 jobs, which double worldwide thanks to a production network of 18 shipyards operating in four continents and with almost 20,000 employees.
Naval Group is a partner to its customers' maritime sovereignty. An international player in naval defense and heir to French naval know-how, Naval Group develops innovative solutions to meet the needs of navies. Present throughout the entire life cycle of the ships, the group designs, builds, integrates and maintains submarines and surface ships, as well as their systems and equipment, through to dismantling. It also provides services for shipyards and naval bases.
A high-tech company, Naval Group builds on its exceptional expertise, its unique design and production resources and its ability to set up strategic partnerships and successful transfers of technology. With operations on five continents, the group has a turnover of 4.3 billion euros and employs 16029 people (full-time equivalents/December 2021 data).
