Allegrini – Chairman Marilisa Allegrini

Allegrini has its roots in Fumane, in the heart of the Valpolicella Classic region. Since the 16th century, the Allegrini family has been dedicated to wine production for generations and has been at the forefront of promoting and enhancing Valpolicella, supporting the culture and identity of its territory. Beginning in the 1960s, the company underwent a profound transformation under the guidance of Giovanni Allegrini.

The company’s legacy then passed into the hands of his sons Walter, Marilisa and Franco, who were able to collect, foster and communicate their father’s great intuitions with great dedication. Marilisa, Chair of the Group, promotes her company’s wines around the world. When presenting a wine, she tells of its land of origin, how it should be paired with food, the painstaking efforts of hard-working vineyard workers, the endeavour to combine tradition and innovation. Marilisa Allegrini also strove to enhance the company’s presence in the international wine world by extending to Tuscany and, in 2001, the winery Poggio al Tesoro was founded in Bolgheri. Thanks to the Family’s ambition to grow in an area different from its original one, today it extends for about 70 hectares, of which almost 60 are planted with vines. San Polo is the group’s most recent acquisition. Allegrini decided to invest in Montalcino in 2007, thus launching a forward-looking enterprise attentive to contemporary environmental concerns, of which this winery designed according to modern bio-architecture principles is a tangible demonstration. In 2008, Marilisa Allegrini took over Villa Della Torre, a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance and a distinguished work of the Schools of Giulio Romano and Michele Sanmicheli, which has now become a representative office and flagship of Allegrini hospitality.

Avio – Chairman Roberto Italia, CEO Giulio Ranzo

Since its foundation in 1912, Avio has always represented an important point of reference for technological innovation in Italy. Over the course of more than a century, Avio has shown great flexibility by increasing and transforming its skill-base as the needs of the country evolved, and in the 1960s it became an established supplier of space propulsion systems. Engaged at the forefront of the space propulsion sector, Avio is a technology leader internationally committed to the continuous pursuit of excellent products. The company is committed to maintaining and extending this leadership, through the passion and expertise of the people who work there. Research is an intrinsic part of the company’s mission and it collaborates successfully with important universities such as those of Rome, Milan, Padua, Naples and Turin. Avio is involved in the design, development and production of space launchers (the Vega in its basic and upgraded C and E versions); solid and liquid propellant propulsion systems for space launchers (Ariane 5 and Ariane 6); liquid propellant propulsion systems for satellites; research and development. Avio is the reference point for dozens of Italian suppliers, most of them SMEs, located in the north, centre and south of the country, several of which are thus empowered to compete independently at an international level. It directly employs more than 800 highly qualified professionals in Italy and abroad, 15% of whom are employed in R&D. In Italy, Avio employs people at its main operating site in Colleferro (Rome) and other sites in Campania, Sardinia and Piedmont; further operating sites are present abroad, in France (metropolitan and French Guyana). New technological challenges see Avio engaged in the study of new generations of launchers to make access to space more flexible and economic.

Fabbri 1905 – CEO Nicola Fabbri

Fabbri was founded in 1905 in Portomaggiore, in the province of Ferrara. The founder Gennaro Fabbri acquired an old grocery with a vat cellar and, together with his two sons Aldo and Romeo, transformed that shop into a liqueur production and sale site. It was the beginning of a long and successful business adventure, which has grown over time right up to the third millennium. Between 1914 and 1924, Gennaro Fabbri moved the business to new premises in Bologna and started the production of syrups and fruit preserves. The creation of the company’s most famous product, Amarena Fabbri, dates back to 1915 and is still today a renowned icon of Fabbri quality. During the economic recovery of the post-war years, the company was transformed into the joint-stock company “G. Fabbri SpA”. In 1947, the initiative of the founder’s grandchildren, Fabio and Giorgio, the third generation, gave even more impetus to the marketing of products, from liqueurs to fruit syrups, from Amarena to the first ingredients for artisanal gelato, which were a resounding success. This opened up a new market, that of Made-in-Italy gelato and the gelato shops that produce it in the world. An ingenious vision that enabled the company to also conquer international markets. Today, Fabbri 1905 is a family holding company that distributes 1,300 “Made in Italy” products worldwide from its Anzola facility in Emilia, as well as manufacturing products for South America in a second factory in Buenos Aires (Argentina). The company operates in 10 countries with its own branches and in over 100 countries with importers and/or distributors. Not only quality products, but also professional training. In 1996, the UNI-certified “Permanent International School of Gelato and Artisan Pastry” was founded, today known as “Fabbri Master Class” which identifies Fabbri training centres in Italy and abroad.
The business is now managed by the fourth and fifth generation of the family, who are present in the company with the same passion as the founder in pursuing a great project in the name of continuous innovation, without sacrificing the strong link with tradition.

Flou – Chairman and CEO Massimiliano Messina

Flou was founded in 1978 with the goal of producing beds of high intrinsic formal quality and introducing a new “sleeping culture”. It was a time of great changes: women were entering the world of work, home demands mandated multifunctional spaces and also bedroom design was changing, with beds decked in colours and the traditional “all-white” look became unfashionable. Flou hits the mark with the “Nathalie” model, the brainchild of Vico Magistretti. A bed that combined innovative design with great practicality. An immediate success, Nathalie was softly padded, with a washable cover, and complemented by colourful duvet covers that replaced sheets and immediately became the leader of “modern textile beds”. Since then, Flou has continued to expand the collection with beds and accessories designed to improve comfort, well-being and quality of life, designed by its Research & Development Centre in collaboration with renowned designers. Today, Flou produces over 40 models of beds – from single to double, from sofa beds to convertibles – mattresses, pillows and bed linen, a wide range of wardrobes and accessories and has recently expanded its offer with a collection of sofas and armchairs for the living room, for installation as part of a range and to compose modular solutions. The latest to be launched, in 2013, the brand NATEVO, whose products stand out for the innovative feature of integrating LEDs capable of independently illuminating the environment in which they are placed. By interpreting the function of sleeping with an innovative concept, Flou has gained international leadership with a “total living” collection present in the most qualified furniture stores in over 50 countries and in its single-brand showrooms in Milan, New York and Los Angeles.