PRESS RELEASE

INTESA SANPAOLO FOR EXPO MILANO 2015
“ECCO LA MIA IMPRESA” (“THIS IS MY COMPANY”)

FOUR HUNDRED EXCELLENT ITALIAN COMPANIES TELL THEIR STORY

ARTI GRAFICHE BOCCIA PRESENTS ITS BOOK ON WEDNESDAY 28TH OCTOBER

Milan, 26th October 2015 – On Wednesday 28th October 2015, Intesa Sanpaolo’s exhibition space The Waterstone will host a session with Italian printing firm Arti Grafiche Boccia: from the miracle of a street child to a “Factory of Excellence”, over fifty years’ history of Arti Grafiche Boccia as told by Valerio Castronovo. Presenting the book “Arti Grafiche Boccia. Un’impresa italiana all’avanguardia” with the author will be Alessandro Laterza, Managing Director of Laterza & Figli SpA and Confindustria’s (the Association of Italian Industries) Deputy Chairman for Southern Italy, alongside Vincenzo Boccia, Managing Director of Arti Grafiche Boccia.

The “Ecco la mia impresa” (“This is my company”) project has given 400 firms and innovative start-ups from various sectors of industry an invitation to appear at Intesa Sanpaolo’s exhibition space at Expo Milano. True examples of Italian quality, the companies were chosen by the Bank from different regions and manufacturing sectors to reflect Expo’s themes: Food, Fashion, Design and Hospitality. Guest companies were carefully selected to represent Italy’s regions and for their relevance to the themes of Expo through “Candida la tua impresa” (“Nominate your company”), a scheme launched by Intesa Sanpaolo across the media and via its own publishing platform. Intesa Sanpaolo has presented its products and services at Expo in a setting which examines the issues of sustainable, responsible growth, in keeping with the theme of Expo: “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.

From the pursuit of quality to a “Factory of Excellence”, the success of Italian printers Arti Grafiche Boccia spans more than half a century. The small craft firm which Orazio Boccia set up in the early 1960s has become one of the most globally-minded companies in the sector, operating in ten countries on three continents. It is a gripping human tale as well as a business story. The tale of how a thriving manufacturing company has grown from nothing, through the sheer passion, courage and intelligence of a “street child”: Orazio Boccia, a fatherless child who lived for years at the “Serraglio”, as Salerno’s Umberto I orphanage was once known.

The long battle for the company’s survival and growth, a challenge which was won in the early decades through Orazio’s bravery and determination in pursuing his vision of a social business, one which was immune to compromise over its clients and sought orders from individuals and the market, making quality its ongoing priority. The critical phase in the early 1990s and the management handover when Orazio’s two sons, Vincenzo and Maurizio, joined the firm. The introduction of modern management approaches and the emphasis on innovation with the purchase of cutting-edge machinery, often the first to be installed anywhere in Europe. Product diversification and the opening of offices outside Italy, in France, the UK and northern Europe. The awards, including Cavaliere del Lavoro for Orazio, and Vincenzo’s rise through the ranks of Confindustria to become Chairman of Small Industries and later Chairman of the Credit and Finance Committee. The celebrations, not least the company’s “Fifty-plus-one years”, with a message of congratulations from Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. The new model for the “Factory of Excellence”, combining optimised costs and competences with a real team spirit, as the whole company sought to grow its output and values. These and many more episodes are narrated succinctly but with a great passion for industry and small, expanding companies. This challenge, which will be discussed at Expo, stems from the innate vocation of a man who has matched business values with a keen awareness of social issues and risks.

“We have made The Waterstone an open, welcoming exhibition space for visitors and businesses, a place where our 400 guest companies can speak for themselves, meet other firms, share and develop projects and ideas, and examine new international business opportunities,” explains Francesco Guido, Intesa Sanpaolo’s regional director for the South of Italy and Managing Director of Banco di Napoli. “Since May, The Waterstone has hosted dozens of different-sized companies from a range of sectors; what they share is quality products, an emphasis on sustainability and a successful business history. Many are based in the South of Italy, underlining our region’s long-standing, thriving entrepreneurial spirit. Expo has shown us that our companies need an international showcase, and a bank like ours has a duty to help them find one. I’d also like to remind people that as well as hosting business events, our space also offers outstanding opportunities for culture and entertainment.”

Visit www.expo.intesasanpaolo.com for the latest schedule of events and profiles of guest companies appearing at The Waterstone.