The idea
VALVITALIA arose from a project of the Chairman and Founder of the Group, Mr Salvatore Ruggeri, holder of the Order of Merit for Labour: to create the first Italian company operating in the valves sector able to compete with the major US multinationals.

In 2002, he realised Italy’s potential in this sector where, amidst a myriad of small manufacturers, technologically competitive and complementary in their products and services, there was no Group capable of standing up against the industry’s giants.

The first steps
The offer was mainly aimed at the oil, water and natural gas industry as well as at the petrochemical industry and the production of electricity. With his wealth of experience, Ruggeri was convinced that the success of his company relied to a large degree on his capacity to meet as fully as possible the needs of his clients. To reach this objective, it was fundamental to broaden and diversify the range of products. At the start of 2002, the entrepreneur and his son Massimiliano travelled more than twenty thousand kilometres, looking around for companies that would suit his project and for a building in which to start production. The latter was found near Rivanazzano: an almost new factory with 5 twelve-metre bays. He then began what in his own words he would define as an "acquisitions campaign" and, within a year, various well-known brands became part of the company: Tormene, Vitas, Delta Valves Europe, Rotor, Thevignot, Vanadour, Dyna-Lok, Sealmatic and Diversified Energy Products. Thanks to these acquisitions, in addition to broadening the offer, two important results were attained:

the acquisition of well-known, top-quality brands from the main operators and so included on the respective vendor lists;
the integration in its marketing and production structure of human resources with previous experience in the field of valves.

A company made up of people
Right from the start, the enthusiasm that the charismatic founder generated around the VALVITALIA project was clear. Two advertisements were placed in a local newspaper, “La Provincia Pavese” to find around 40 workers needed to start production.

Already known in the area for his work with the Grove Group, Salvatore’s reputation meant that 350 applications for jobs arrived and soon the number of those hired had reached 85, most of whom had long experience in the sector.

The wealth of knowledge accrued by Mr. Ruggeri during his career meant that he was well aware that the success of any business primarily derives from its people. So it was that, when the company was started, he sought those collaborators who had demonstrated over the years, as well as the utmost professional ability, that they shared his passion and enthusiasm for the work.

ONE STOP SHOP
Between 2003 and 2005, the company increased its penetration of various markets in order to create new outlets for its products and consolidate its presence at the international level.

In the same period, other acquisitions followed, still with the aim of seizing new opportunities by offering products with greater technological content and an increasingly differentiated portfolio. Among these, Tecnoforge stands out, a company with 2 factories located in northern Italy specialising in the productions of fittings. This operation enables the Group to benefit from commercial synergies and economies of scale that led, at the end of the 2005, to a near doubling of the turnover from 110 million in 2004 to 212 million. Moreover, this acquisition is an important step forward as regards the ONE STOP SHOP philosophy. VALVITALIA’s management realised long ago how important it was for clients to obtain their orders from a single supplier. Many of the acquisitions completed by the company over the years, in fact, had this objective. The production excellence, together with the capacity to meet every request of its clients through products that were tailor-made to their needs, led to the company becoming the leading independent operator of the sector. The strategy of diversifying the offer, based on this insight, was confirmed every day to be one of the decisive factors in the Group’s success.

Global success
During 2006, expansion continued at the global level, in line with Mr. Ruggeri’s vision, who stated: “I see China as an aid to our creativity and certainly not as a threat,” and the Group is also making inroads there. Valvitalia (Suzhou) Valves Co. was established to produce valves for the downstream segment. But not just that. A Joint Venture has also been launched in Saudi Arabia, Arab Italian Manufacturing Co., and soon Valvitalia India and Valvitalia Egypt will be launched. In the meantime, commercial offices have opened in Algiers, Abu Dhabi, Houston and Kuala Lumpur. Once again, the company management has shown itself to be ready to seize any opportunity for development, increasing its penetration in those regions where there has been strong economic growth.
Other offices are scheduled to follow in regions more strategic for the company’s development: Seoul, Beijing, Baku and Moscow.

In 2014 and 2015, Valvitalia further consolidated its position and acquired two historical Italian fire prevention companies, Silvani and Eusebi, and began to serve the civil sector. In 2016, still pursuing the objective of supplying the broadest possible range of products, the acquisition of Nuova Giungas, an exponent of Italian excellence in the production of monolithic isolation joints, followed.

Ownership
The Company, led by the Chief Executive Officer Andrea Forzi, is 75% controlled by CDP Investimenti (CDP group) and the remaining 25% by the Ruggeri family.

Salvatore Ruggeri, who founded the company in the early 2000s, holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors.

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