THE AMERICAN LANDINGS

Fincantieri crosses the Atlantic Ocean and lands at the Great Lakes District, United States of America, to acquire the Manitowoc Marine Group, a company that includes two very important shipyards, the Marinette Marine Corporation and the Bay Shipbuilding Company, as well as the Cleveland Shiprepair facility. It is the result of a significant agreement between Fincantieri and U.S. Manitowoc Group. Lockheed Martin Corporation, the main US company in the defence sector, is also involved as a strategic partner and minority investor. 
After a period of evaluation and negotiation, following our growth and expansion strategies for the naval business, Fincantieri enters the American defence market, the world’s most important one. Moreover, thanks to the partnership with Lockheed Martin and through the Marinette Shipyard, Fincantieri will take part in the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a crucial naval program: 55 vessels are expected to be built for the U.S. Navy. These shipyards are not only among the leading builders of mid-size ships for the U.S. Navy: with their strategic position in the Great Lakes District (Northern USA), they are also involved in building and repairing activities on merchant ships. 
The Manitowoc Marine Group will therefore benefit from Fincantieri extensive experience in the naval and merchant ship sectors, a know-how achieved in more than two hundred years. At the same time the Group will substantially improve the quality of construction standards and employ state-of-the-art technical solutions. In addition to this, a 100-million dollar Business Plan is foreseen for the next years to be invested in the updating of facilities and to increase efficiency and productivity. Fincantieri will therefore be able to acquire new contracts in the U.S. market as well as with the merchant and naval exports to countries under the U.S. sphere of influence. As a consequence, positive results are expected for the Italian ancillary industries too: components, engines, services and engineering will be provided in a remarkable quantity from Italy, including the Isotta Fraschini diesel engines.