There are brands whose success fixes the sound of their name in the minds of entire generations, to the point of becoming a legend. And’ the case of Magneti Marelli, the famous Milanese electromechanical company, which has made its production known throughout the world. A reality that with its work has affirmed Made in Italy in a sector whose assembly lines made the fortune of the states of the so-called “first generation” of the Industrial Revolution. Italian Tradition retraced the history of Magneti Marelli, an all-Italian icon who has survived the century of life, making the country great also in metalworking.
Not just food and fashion, Italy through the international affirmation of certain brands has also led the way in the less traditional sectors of national production. Magneti Marelli was born in 1919 in Corbetta, in the Milan area. E’ the fruit of a visionary idea by Ercole Marelli, in collaboration with Senator Giovanni Agnelli’s FIAT. The original name was Società Anonima Fabbrica Italiana Magneti Marelli, summarized in FIMM, with factories in Sesto San Giovanni. Production immediately focused on magnets for igniting internal combustion engines in the aeronautical and automotive sectors, whose pivot rests on the Taylorist model of Ford, imported from the United States.
Production soon expanded to include the Magluce for starting and lighting motorcycles, but also electrical equipment such as spark plugs, batteries and windshield wipers. Magneti Marelli employs hundreds of workers, extending its products to the radio sector over the years ’30. The huge success allows the company to open representative offices in major European capitals, with Paris and London leading the way. At the same time, further factories are built to meet the political needs of ensuring national self-sufficiency. After the collaboration with Bosh, the staff is made up of thousands of workers. The leap occurred before the Second World War with the incursion into the television sector. The expansion is now unstoppable, delivering electronically scanned televisions and cameras to users. The international success of the company attracts big names such as Enrico Fermi.
The physicist, whose name is linked to nuclear power, will collaborate with the Milanese brand in the research sector. After the storm of war, the brand survives, despite the destruction of most of the factories. The rebirth marked by FIAT allows us to reach heights of popularity never seen before with the arrival in Formula 1 in 1960. The operation ensures the Corbetta company consolidates itself as a supplier of electrical systems and technical sponsor of car teams of the caliber of Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull Rancing.
The exponential growth of the company was premised, in 1978, on the opening of a factory also in Brazil and, in the ’80s, projected the company into a hegemonic position in Aftermarket activities. In the same period, the Italian multinational acquired other companies, transforming itself into a financial group with notable ramifications. A rise that finds a setback in the ’90 years, when the crisis brings the group to its knees, with the consequence that it is delisted from the stock exchange in 1995. Today Magneti Marelli is part of the Japanese financial conglomerate CK Holdings, which purchases it from the Italian-American multinational FCA. In Formula 1 his name still stands out with the iconic graphics, being firmly recognized as the official supplier of all teams in the context of telemetry and connectivity technology. An Italian history that has conquered the world, through the know-how of Made in Italy production, and the ability to represent a cutting edge in the highly specialized electromechanical sector.