In Turin’s Factories and Startup Hubs, a New Industrial Story Takes Shape.
BY SCOTT B. NEWTON
February, 2025
When I mention to new people I meet that I live in Italy, there are typically two reactions:
1. An explanation of an incredible vacation they had with unforgettable food, culture and beauty
2. A reflection on what a nice place Italy would be to retire
I agree with both observations, and yet there is a third alternative which the savviest managers are well aware of: Italy has some incredible innovations and interesting investment opportunities in industry. While globalization has emphasized the shift in manufacturing to lower-cost countries beginning with China, now moving to Southeast Asia, the reality is that high-quality precision manufacturing remains to this day in Italy with some incredible innovations driving value. As an example, the much-publicized “Gigapress” operation, which allows Tesla to reduce labor and vehicle weight, was created by Idra Group in the province of Brescia. Not far from Idra, you will also find the global leader in braking systems, Brembo, in Stezzano, which now has more than 11,000 employees around the world, including 10% who are specialized engineers. Essilor Luxottica was founded by Italian entrepreneur Leonardo Del Vecchio in the small town of Agordo (north of Belluno) in 1961 with just 14 workers and free land contributed by the community to start a business.
Today Luxottica owns leading brands including Ray-Ban, Oakley, Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters and has more than 190,000 employees delivering global revenues in 2023 of 25.39 billion euros. In aerospace and defense, Leonardo, headquartered in Rome, is the 12th-largest contractor in the world, while shipbuilder Fincantieri, based in Trieste, is the biggest shipbuilder in Europe with revenues of 7.65 billion euros in 2023. Italy is also the global leader in the production of luxury yachts. Turin-based Azimut group broke records in both revenues (1.31 billion euros) and profits at 454 million euros last year, while Forli-headquartered Ferretti Group also passed the billion sales mark in 2023 with consolidated revenues of 1.11 billion euros.
Milan is well-recognized as a global leader in fashion with some of the hottest brands including Prada and Moncler headquartered here, and the design story related to the furniture industry is a global attraction. The “Salone del Mobile” trade fair highlighting Italian design attracted 370,000 visitors from 35 countries in 2024 and 1,950 exhibitors. With exports exceeding 500 billion euros in 2023, Italian brands are known all over the world including Ferrari, Ducati, Lamborghini, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Barilla, Campari, Fiat, Technogym and Illycaffe to name a few. Yet while many visitors hit the golden tourism must-see cities of Rome, Florence and Venice, in the story of industry there is a less visited city which is full of new opportunity today.
Say Hello to Turin!
Modern industrial Turin (Turin is the English name) is best known as the city where Fiat was founded on July 11, 1899. Giovanni Agnelli built an incredible strategic vision that is recognized worldwide today through the Stellantis empire. Design companies including Pininfarina supported this growth and are located nearby to the original headquarters and first factory of Fiat in Lingotto near the historical center of Turin. While Turin is well-recognized in the automotive industry, the global coffee company Lavazza is also headquartered here. Founded in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza, today this fourth-generation family business with over 5,500 employees broke a new record with 2023 sales of 3.1 billion euros.Near Turin in the small town of Trivero, Ermenegildo Zegna founded Zegna in 1910. Today the company is quoted on the NYSE with a market capitalization of $2.62 billion. With so many global brands and a rich history of industry, one of the most exciting developments I see today in Turin comes from a completely different area: startups.
Just next door to the global headquarters of the Bank Intesa Sanpaolo, you will find the beautifully restored facilities of the OGR. The OGR is one of the largest areas in Europe for incubating new startup companies and the headquarters for Techstars Turin. Techstars Transformative World Turin is now in its fifth year and has been featured in Inc. magazine explaining “Why You Shouldn’t Overlook Italy as a Startup Destination.”The Turin-based accelerator program has now raised more than $100 million and created more than 600 new jobs in fields including quantum computing, aerospace, IoT, sustainability, robotics and learning.
Personally, I have chosen Italy as my home since 2001, and while I have a background in global business ranging from China to America, Brazil, South Africa, the Middle East and beyond, I can see such rich entrepreneurial and innovative opportunities in Italy today. The investors and managers willing to explore and build have incredible innovation stories which will initiate today and soar well into the next century.
Scott B. Newton grew up in Vancouver BC and has been living in Italy since 2001. Based in Asolo (TV,) Veneto, Newton is CEO at Thinking Dimensions Italy, Managing Partner of Thinking Dimensions Global, and a portfolio Non-Executive Director. Scott works with Boards, CEOs, Private Equity, Family Office, on Strategy, M&A, Value Creation, and Digital Transformation with an emphasis on embedding sustainability into their business models today and for the future. Scott has assisted both leading Italian based companies on their global expansion programmes and multinational organizations achieving growth in Italy, the EU, and beyond.