Datalogic S.p.A. is an Italian company working in the

automatic data capture Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) refers to the methods of automatically identifying objects, collecting data about them, and entering them directly into computer systems, without human involvement. Technologies typically considere ...

and process automation markets. The group specializes in the design and production of barcode readers,

mobile computers Mobile computing is human–computer interaction in which a computer is expected to be transported during normal usage, which allows for the transmission of data, voice, and video. Mobile computing involves mobile communication, mobile hardware ...

radio-frequency identification Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...

sensor A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

s for detection,

measurement Measurement is the quantification of attributes of an object or event, which can be used to compare with other objects or events. In other words, measurement is a process of determining how large or small a physical quantity is as compared ...

and

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

, vision and

laser marking Laser engraving is the practice of using lasers to engrave an object. Laser marking, on the other hand, is a broader category of methods to leave marks on an object, which in some cases, also includes color change due to chemical/molecular alte ...

systems. Datalogic products are used in many supermarkets and points of sale, at

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

s, at shipping and

postal services The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

, and in factories and

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

s worldwide. In 2021 the company recorded sales of : Datalogic S.p.A. is listed on the STAR segment of the

Italian Stock Exchange Borsa Italiana, based in Milan, is the Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and intermediaries and supervising disclosures for listed companies.italy24.ils ...

as DAL.MI. since 2001.

History

Datalogic was founded in 1972 by Eng. Romano Volta in a room in the rectory of the Parish in Quarto Inferiore, on the outskirts of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Initially, production was centred on electronic devices, but soon the direction changed towards the design and production of

photoelectric sensor A photoelectric sensor is a device used to determine the distance, absence, or presence of an object by using a light transmitter, often infrared, and a photoelectric receiver. They are largely used in industrial manufacturing. There are three ...

s for textile, ceramic and packaging industries. Due to the need for expansion, the plant was soon moved to the current site of Lippo di Calderara di Reno (BO). The first scan of a barcode in a retail store took place on June 26, 1974. A pack of chewing gum was scanned in a store in Troy, Ohio with a "Magellan Model-A": the world's first fixed retail scanner was signed by Datalogic. Today, only two copies of the original scanner are still known to exist: one kept at the

Smithsonian Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in Washington D.C. and the other is currently exhibited in the museum at the entrance to one of the Datalogic business locations in Eugene,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. In 1984 a Datalogic barcode reader was used at an airport in

Milan Linate Milan Linate Airport is the third international airport of Milan, the second-largest city and largest urban area of Italy, behind Malpensa Airport and Orio al Serio Airport. It served 9,233,475 passengers in 2018, being the fifth busiest air ...

to sort baggage, the first use of a barcode reader for this purpose The first

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...

application in the world with use in a post office dates back to 1999, while in 2000 the ''Shopevolution''™ middleware was born, the first self-shopping solution involving the use of a small handheld computer with integrated barcode reader. On June 8, 2009, Romano Volta receives the "Premio Imprese per l’Innovazione” (Business Prize for Innovation) from the President of Italy,

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...

for the company's growth both in Italy and globally resulting from investing in innovative technologies and methods.

Chairman and CEO

On 1 January 2017, Valentina Volta became the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Datalogic. Volta has a graduate degree in Business Economics from the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

with a master's degree in Management from the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

(

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

). Before her entry into Datalogic, Dr. Volta worked for over 10 years in the

Ferrero Ferrero (Italian: , Spanish: ) is a surname of Italian (from Piedmont) and Spanish origin that means 'smith', the person who works with iron, in parallel with surnames like Ferraro, Ferrari and Smith. Notable people with the surname Ferrero inclu ...

Group, with managerial roles in sales and marketing. Eng. Romano Volta, founder of the company, holds the office of Executive President. In 1997, Romano Volta received the

Cavaliere del Lavoro The Order of Merit for Labour ( it, Ordine al Merito del Lavoro) is an Italian order of chivalry that was founded in 1923 by King Vittorio Emanuele III. It is awarded to those "who have been singularly meritorious" in agriculture, industry and ...

(awarded by the President of the Italian Republic). Eng. Volta is President of Aczon S.r.l. (pharmaceutical research and biotechnology) and Hydra S.p.A.

Acquisitions

Over the years, Datalogic has acquired many subsidiary companies. These include: PSC Inc. in 2005; Datasensors in 2008; Evolution Robotics Retail in 2010; PPT Vision in 2011; Accu-Sort Systems in 2012; M.D. Micro Detectors in 2021; and Pekat Vision in 2022.

References

External links

* {{cite web, url=https://www.datalogic.com, title=Datalogic official website Italian companies established in 1972 Companies listed on the Borsa Italiana Manufacturing companies based in Bologna Financial technology companies 1972 establishments in Italy