WHAT IS MADE IN ITALY

Knowing how to make and knowing how to do Two concepts, not to be confused with each other, which fully represent the essence of Made in Italy. A set of characteristics, traditions, flavours - for some time now, attempts have been made to regulate the Italian sound, i.e. the mispronunciation of the names of food and wine products to pass them off as ours - that make the Belpaese the Bengodi of lovers of luxury, goodness and beauty. And not only that. Because if 'Know-How' tells of expert hands in sewing leather or precious silks, chiselling gold and creating perfect objects of desire, it is Know-how that has consecrated small and medium-sized Italian companies in the Gotha of world excellence, even in very specialised sectors that are almost always unknown to most.

That of ‘De Lorenzo’ is, for example, an exemplary story. Present in 140 countries around the world, it is based in Rozzano on the outskirts of Milan and exports training wherever there is a need for qualified personnel or to start a new business. It does this with 55 passionate employees - who get together to dance, go out and celebrate work successes -, with an agent in every corner of the globe and with an idea that is as simple as it is ingenious: to reproduce to scale without the slightest margin for error any industrial machinery that comes to mind. Wind turbines and wind tunnels included. Their simulators, designed primarily for vocational schools, allow - for example - aspiring electricians to practise on real electrical circuits designed - in reduced dimensions - as flat rooms or real industrial premises.

Founded in the 1950s from the intuition of Ugo De Lorenzo, a former soldier, after a brief handover to a bank holding company, it was taken over in the 1980s by Luciano Prosperi, who still runs it today with his sons Filippo and Matteo. And if an authoritative brand name is not changed so as not to lose a legacy of credibility in a highly specialised market, the only change made by the new owner was the adoption of the colour yellow (immediately recognisable, says Filippo) to distinguish their models and simulators. Two thousand teaching modules (their material assets) are available to technicians and aspiring technicians all over the world - updated and expanded to follow the inevitable evolution of production - from Mexico to North Africa, all the way to the Maldives because, explains Filippo Prosperi, wherever there is a need to create a business, one needs someone who knows how to do it and who knows how to teach it to those who will work in it. And it is to him that we ask the reason for this 100% Italian success. “Having tested the validity of our all-inclusive package - simulators + trainers - we are perceived as competent, serious and honest. An all-Italian characteristic is to be able to listen and solve the specific needs of each individual customer. We are elastic, as no one else can be’.

Elasticity and vision are also the basis of the second story chosen to tell ‘the other made in Italy’.

English name ‘Trusty’, Italian heart for the benefit company specialising in the traceability of agri-food chains and the regulatory compliance of these chains.

If for us European consumers it is taken for granted to find on food packaging, thanks to a now standardised software, all the information relating to the production cycle - and by the end of the year also the guarantees of compliance with the environmental and social ethics of the EU directives against deforestation - this is not the case for the rest of the world. This is where the vision of a group of thirty-year-olds led by Alessandro Chelli (in the photo with project manager Rossella Guarnieri and communication manager Sara De Grossi) comes into play. This started with the idea of tracing the entire route taken by cocoa beans and coffee beans to arrive on tables and in supermarkets. “Offering this information,” explains CEO Chelli, “increases the market value of the products given the increased consumer awareness of green issues, and rewards truly virtuous companies. 60 thousand particles - farmers and small entrepreneurs - connected in the network created by the young Italians between Ivory Coast, Colombia and recently also Asia to respond to the requests of 150 customers among the main European and world producers.

We asked the co-founder of Trusty why their company represents an example of Italian excellence. ‘For the demonstrated ability to solve problems in different contexts,’ he replies, ‘which clashes with the rigidity of other developers. We are tenacious, and everyone abroad recognises this, because if there is no solution, we build it’.

Let’s go back to the initial premise, namely that we don’t just export luxury but also expertise. And to demonstrate this, it is interesting to recount the ‘Dubai case’.

The first image we all think of is that of luxury par excellence, from cars to jewellery, from leather goods to clothing. All true, but it is above all high-tech products - along with agri-foodstuffs - that drive exports to the Arab Emirates’ city of nightlife. Artificial intelligence, robotics and blockchain are the emerging fields that see the Tricolour among the most reliable partners for a very demanding clientele.

And then there is Culture, the intangible and universal heritage of humanity with great potential, including economic potential. Benedetta Paravia, philanthropist and entrepreneur daughter of art (her family was a pioneer and leader in the production, installation and maintenance of lifts) who decided to invest in art and beauty, knows this well. It was her idea of the ‘La Dolce Via Festival’ to tell the story of Italian cinema in the Emirates. An event that gave rise to the idea of a film masterclass to promote careers in the sector among young Emiratis and encourage study paths in Italy.

Your testimony on what is needed to support ‘the other made in Italy’ abroad

What support can the country system give to those who, like you, are committed to promoting the Italian brand?

The first step is to stop acting like an absent-minded genius and start structuring everything that can be summed up in the word ‘enchantment’. We are the country of excellence but we often seem to forget this by letting others tell - or worse imitate - what only we know how to do with authenticity

In concrete terms?

Three fundamental things are needed. The first is the political courage to strategically invest in economic-cultural diplomacy because today promoting Italian products does not only mean exporting products, but exporting vision, values and lifestyles. Even in the construction of an Expo, narrative is used, and there is no narrative without a system. The second thing is concrete support for women’s creative entrepreneurship. Italian women carry on tradition and innovation with a pioneering spirit that deserves tools, visibility and credit, in every sense. Thirdly, the ability to act as a nation-company with a central direction that is able to coordinate excellence, avoid dispersion and present itself to the world with a single, authoritative voice. If Italy were managed as a global brand, with an integrated and measurable strategy, Made in Italy would become the country’s first export value.

This is what Expo is for: showcasing

It is a good sign that Mario Vattani has been chosen for Osaka to promote a strong idea of Italy: a country that does not limit itself to recounting beauty but plans, defends and exports it with collective intelligence.

So as not to get too carried away with praising ourselves too much, it is the numbers that give us an objective idea of the desire for Made in Italy that exists in the world. While in the rest of Europe, micro and small enterprises with their exports account on average for 1.6 % of GDP, Italian ones travel at double speed with a percentage of 3.3%. This growth is a direct consequence of having understood, for years now, that it is possible to remain small or very small, as long as you network, especially through territorial districts.

A few more figures to understand the Italy of know-how. Last year 83,586 craft businesses were set up, at the rate of 321 per day, and in the last six years, 502,000 young people under 30 have been trained and started work with an apprenticeship contract in craft businesses (Confartigianato data). A world on a woman’s scale since 99.7% of women’s enterprises are micro or small.

At an institutional level, to help SMEs that want to explore markets beyond the borders, as well as trade associations, there is the Export E-book. A veritable digital handbook developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, designed - explains the Farnesina website - for companies that are not yet present in foreign markets or are not yet present in a stable manner.

In practice, a reasoned list of public tools to support those who wish to export.

It is worth making a brief reflection at this point: it is STILE ITALIA THAT is driving ITALIAN-MADE products in the first place. It sounds like a play on words but it is not. Because if it is true that the products, whether tangible or intangible, of Italian companies focus on flair and quality, the best ambassadors of Italian style are Italians abroad.

Salvo Iavarone, president of Confinternational and Asmef (Associazione Mezzogiorno Futuro), tells us.

There are many Italians who have achieved success, having worked with imagination and ingenuity. Without going to the trouble of bothering the likes of Amadeo Giannini (the founder of the Bank of America), many have charted successful paths. One example? Awarded the Premio Eccellenza Italiana in Washington in 2019, the Marra family, originally from Santa Lucia in Naples, who have been making pizza ovens in America for 12 years, in the state of Maryland, just outside Washington DC. Born with food imports from our country, they have also developed Pizza University and Culinary Arts. But I could also mention Ettore Colussi, who started from nothing and created a tourist empire in Santo Domingo, with hotels and resorts, employing 1,500 people.

Excellent examples and then what?

The Italians registered with AIRE (Anagrafe Italiana Residenti Esteri) number around six million, but if we go exploring the vast world that associates second and third generation Italians, we arrive at an estimated 70 to 80 million, according to studies by the Farnesina. A population larger than that contained within national borders. We are talking about people born in Argentina, in the States or in many other countries and whose father or grandfather was born in Italy. And in many cases they retain a strong Italic identity. In the sense that they cultivate the memory and love for their country of origin, but they also love and respect the nation that welcomed them and gave them economic and social success.

An idyllic world...

A world with many facets. From the CIM (Confederazione Italiani nel Mondo - Confederation of Italians Worldwide), of which I am vice president, we have often launched messages and ideas to keep the Italian identity alive. An interesting proposal seems to me to be the one launched to the Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad. An archipelago of 93 offices in the world under Unioncamere, to which it was proposed to create structures to be put in synergy with the many Italians wishing to buy a few flats in their home villages to recover their roots but also a historical and architectural heritage of great attraction for those who dream of their corner of paradise in the Belpaese. We presented an ad hoc project. After the first positive comments, we are now waiting for developments.

Another interesting reality to be explored is that of the Chambers of Commerce, which from their initial vocation as territorial promotion bodies through real showcases of the ‘best of’ are increasingly evolving into meeting points for entrepreneurs looking across borders. A forerunner of an international vision, Eurochambres was established back in 1958 to connect the trade representations of the founding states of the European Union. Today, its numbers are impressive: 20 million companies connected through a network of 1,700 regional and local chambers of commerce throughout Europe. And the enterprises associated with the chambers of commerce - over 93% of which are SMEs - employ over 120 million people. (data provided by Eurochambres)

It was in May this year that the French Chamber of Commerce opened a representative office in Rome - following the one in Naples in 2023 - adding to the historical presence of the organisation that has been open in Milan since 1885. “Because if for those who do business, the economic capital of Italy remains the Lombard capital,” said CCI France Italie president Denis Delespaul at the inauguration, “Rome is not only the geographical heart of Italy, but above all its institutional nerve centre. The decision to open our office here is the result of our desire to consolidate our role as a credible economic interlocutor, alongside companies and institutions, to support internationalisation, development and innovation in the territories.”

President Delespaul’s three words: internationalisation, development and innovation, suggest the way forward for SMEs that want to grow in foreign markets while maintaining high quality standards. To do this, and this is where the role of politics comes in, what small, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs are asking the government for as a priority is the unbureaucratisation of procedures and active policies for the professional training of young people.

So that we do not die buried by folders and do not lose a heritage of know-how and know how that remains the secret of ‘Made in Italy’.