Fincantieri, official partner of The Bridge 2017

"Italy and France have always been tied, as history teaches, by industrial bounds. Two great countries which have worked together in close cooperation in many different fields.
‘The Bridge’ project not only commemorates a historical moment, a century of friendship between France and the United States - which entered WW1 exactly one hundred years ago - but it also celebrates the sea, heart of the event, and the excitement of what sea voyages can bring along with. 
Our Company decided to support this project for all these reasons. Fincantieri is one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups, the sea is our mission, the very soul where everything begins, as we build all kinds of ships. Our history dates back to more than 230 years ago and one of our shipyards – the one in Castellammare di Stabia near Naples - was built before the French Revolution. 
Past, present, and future, the same essence underlying the ‘Bridge’ project.     
No future does without the past. Which “bridges” can we build for the future and for the world of tomorrow?    

I’m firmly convinced that in today’s world we need a common European industrial strategy. At a political level this is a recognized need. Europe has to play a leading role, carrying out its integration part: without aggregations and strong partnerships the national industries will not be able to compete with the rest of the world. Consolidation in the main industrial sectors, among which the shipbuilding industry. We have to be united, act together, and build “bridges”, notably to promote this common industrial strategy. 
We want to be part of this process, as a leader in the industry sector in which we operate and we would warmly welcome all those who would like to share our vision with us as a partner. 

This would allow the industries to reach greater critical mass and better negotiation power, mainly at export level. In this way, Europe would be able to stand on a par with the other competitors and take advantage of the great opportunities which lie ahead of us, maintaining employment levels and ensuring fair and constantly increasing standard of living to the European workers." 

Giuseppe Bono,
Chief executive officer FINCANTIERI