Maiora builds its first 50m metal superyacht on a EUR 20m bet
A fibreglass builder moves into steel
Next Yacht Group, the La Spezia parent of Maiora, AB Yachts and CBI Navi, has taken full control of Siman, a metal-fabrication and mechanical-engineering specialist founded in 1988. The deal, done through the group's Continental Investments vehicle, comes with a 20 million euro industrial plan, of which about 11 million is already committed. It keeps Siman's 70 staff in place and adds roughly 15 new hires.
The point of the purchase is capacity the group did not own before. Maiora and AB Yachts made their name in fast fibreglass hulls, and steel and aluminium work of the kind larger displacement yachts need was always bought in. Owning the metal shop is a vertical-integration move that lets the group build bigger boats on its own terms rather than a supplier's queue.
The first hull is a 50m Maiora
A 50 metre Maiora, the brand's first metal superyacht, is already under construction, and the group says new metal units for both Maiora and AB Yachts are on the drawing board. Siman's yard is set up for metalwork, propulsion and refit on hulls up to 60 metres, which frames how far the group intends to push. The first projects from this shift are due to be shown by the end of 2026.
That is a real change of altitude for Maiora. A 50 metre displacement yacht in steel and aluminium is a different product from the planing motoryachts the brand is known for, and it puts the group into a size class it has not competed in directly before. The end-of-year reveal will show whether the drawings translate into a credible flagship.
Why the buyer should watch this
For an owner shopping the 50 metre-plus custom segment, more capacity in Italy is useful leverage. The tier is dominated by a handful of yards with long order books, so a new entrant with its own metal shop widens the field and, at the margin, the negotiating room on slot and price. Maiora also carries a recognisable brand, which matters at resale.
The caveat is that a first metal hull is exactly that, a first. Buyers pay a premium for a yard's track record in a given material, and a debut steel superyacht carries execution risk a proven line does not. The signal to watch is the end-2026 unveiling and how quickly Siman's up-to-60 metre capability scales into repeatable deliveries.