Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993.

From foundation to World War I

The company was founded in 1853 as Gio. Ansaldo & C. S.A.S. by renowned players in the Genoese business world, such as Giovanni Ansaldo,

Raffaele Rubattino Raffaele Rubattino (10 October 1810, Genoa – 2 November 1881) was an Italian entrepreneur and colonialist who started a shipping company that ran merchant ships on the routes to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. He was also a founder of the Ital ...

, Giacomo Filippo Penco and Carlo Bombrini. Until the end of the 19th century, the company focused on manufacturing and repairing

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

components, quickly becoming a 10,000-worker company with seven factories, and starting to expand into sectors such as

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

and mechanical works in general. Sestri Ponente - Launch of Giulio Cesare

In 1904, Ansaldo was bought by Ferdinando Maria Perrone who, along with his sons Mario and Pio, bound the name of the Perrone family to the history of the company. Over the next twenty years, he aimed at making Ansaldo fully independent both in the

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...

and weapon-making areas, thanks to strong

vertical integration In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the suppl ...

. The onset of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was of obvious potential benefit to the company, though Italy was initially neutral. Ansaldo advocated for Italian entry into the war, both directly and by funding political groups that supported the war, such as

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

's proto-Fascist movement. The efforts paid off when Italy entered the war. In 1914 the company was worth 30 million lire, but its market value grew to 500 million in 1918. When the company issued shares in the summer of 1918 worth 400 million lire Ansaldo employed 80,000 workers, had dozens of factories and controlled companies such as A. Cerpelli & C.,

Banca industriale Italiana Banca may refer to: Places * Bangka Island, an island lying east of Sumatra, part of Indonesia * Banca, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a commune of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques ''département'', France * Banca, Tasmania, a locality in Tasmania, Australi ...

, Cantieri Officine Savoia, Dynamit Nobel, Gio.Fossati & C.,

Lloyd Italico Lloyd Italico, Compagnia di assicurazioni e riassicurazioni known as Lloyd Italico was an Italian insurance company. It was specialized in maritime insurance. In 2006, the company was acquired by Assicurazioni Generali and maintained its brand ...

, Nazionale di Navigazione,

Pomilio Fabbrica Aeroplani Ing. O. Pomilio was an Italian World War I biplane aircraft manufacturer. The Pomilio series of aircraft ( PC, PD, PE and PY) were two-seater scout aircraft. When first introduced in spring 1917, the type was faster than mo ...

Società Idroelettrica Negri ''Società'' (Italian: ''Society'') was an Italian communist cultural magazine published in Italy between 1945 and 1961. History and profile ''Società'' was founded as a quarterly magazine in Florence in 1945. The founders were Ranuccio Bianchi ...

, and Transatlantica Italiana.

Fascism and World War II

Following a financial crisis with its largest creditor, ''

Banca Italiana di Sconto The Banca Italiana di Sconto (BIS) was a leading Italian bank that went bust in 1921. One firm hit by its collapse was the giant film production conglomerate Unione Cinematografica Italiana The Unione Cinematografica Italiana (UCI) was an Ita ...

'', and problems in reconverting factories after the end of World War I, the Perrone family abandoned the company in 1921, and the

Banca d'Italia The Bank of Italy (Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', informally referred to as ''Bankitalia''), (), is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, via Nazionale, Rome. The bank's curre ...

led a consortium to save it from

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. Company strategies were drastically sized down, and during the 1920s, even though electro-mechanical productions grew significantly, Ansaldo found itself in such dire difficulties that it finally entered the control of the

Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale The Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI; English: "Institute for Industrial Reconstruction") was an Italian public holding company established in 1933 by the Fascist regime to rescue, restructure and finance banks and private companies ...

(IRI), under which the company found new life and growth, partly thanks to the new war effort during

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. The main figure in this rebirth, the

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

Agostino Rocca Agostino Rocca (1895 – 17 February 1978) was an Italian Argentines, Italo-Argentine businessman. Life and times Agostino Rocca was born in 1895 in Milan. His family relocated to Rome early in his childhood, and he completed secondary school stu ...

, reconfigured the structure and organisation of the company during his tenure as

chief executive officer 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 ...

from 1935 to the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. War contracts indeed led to a significant growth: Ansaldo had 22,000 employees in 1939, and 35,000 in 1943.

After World War II

After the end of World War II, conversion to peacetime production again caused problems for the company. In 1948, IRI entrusted the company to

Finmeccanica Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian Multinational corporation, multinational company specialising in Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, arms industry, defence and Information security, securi ...

, which operated several reorganisation measures during the 1950s and 1960s, such as the relinquishing of all shipbuilding activities to

Italcantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

in 1966. From that year, Finmeccanica further engaged Ansaldo within its activities, and in 1980 they formed Italy's largest thermo-electric group. In 1993, Ansaldo ceased to exist as an independent entity, having been completely absorbed by Finmeccanica.

Ansaldo today

Some companies controlled by Leonardo S.p.A. still bear the Ansaldo family name: *

Ansaldo Energia Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company. It is based in Genoa, Italy. The absorbed parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., started in 1853. It was taken over by Leonardo S.p.A. In 2011, Leonardo S.p.A. sold 45% stake in Ansa ...

, involved in building electric

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

s, based in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. * Ansaldo Caldaie, involved in building fired Steam Generators. Sofinter Group (Private Company located in Gallarate, Italy). * Ansaldo Ricerche, involved in

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles ( neutrons or protons). The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifest ...

technology, founded in 1987 by merging various

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

departments of Ansaldo and Nucleare Italiana Reattori Avanzati; it takes part in the international

ITER ITER (initially the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, ''iter'' meaning "the way" or "the path" in Latin) is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject aimed at creating energy by replicating, on Earth ...

project. * Ansaldo Fuel Cells, founded in 1993 as a spin-off of the former, devoted to fuel cells. * Ansaldo Nucleare, founded in 1989 by merging Ansaldo Meccanico Nucleare and Nucleare Italiana Reattori Avanzati; in 1999, it was absorbed by

, but in 2005 it was re-founded as a separate company, although 100%-controlled by Ansaldo Energia. *

Nidec ASI Nidec Industrial Solutions is an Italian multinational company based in Milan, that designs and manufactures rotating electrical machines, Power electronics and industrial automation. It was founded in 2012 with the acquisition of Ansaldo Sistemi ...

(formerly Ansaldo Industrial Systems). Former Finmeccanica Company, sold to the Japanese Nidec Group, in 2012 Nidec acquired Ansaldo Sistemi Industriali SpA. and becomes Nidec ASI S.p.A. Nidec ASI is a manufacturer of electric motors, their products are found in electrical engineering, electric motors and generators, control systems and automation for industrial applications. Nidec ASI is headquartered in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and has different subsidiaries in Italy in

Montebello Vicentino Montebello Vicentino is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middl ...

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain' ...

and abroad in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

.Nidec ASI web site
/ref>

Products

Aircraft production

* Ansaldo Baby (1915) single seat biplane reconnaissance floatplane, a British

Sopwith Baby The Sopwith Baby is a British single-seat floatplane that was operated by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) from 1915. Development and design The Baby (also known as the Admiralty 8200 Type) was a development of the two-seat Sopwith Schneider. ...

built under licence with minor changes *

Ansaldo A.1 Balilla The Ansaldo A.1, nicknamed "Balilla" after the Genoan folk-hero, was Italy's only domestically-designed fighter aircraft of World War I to be produced in Italy. Arriving too late to see any real action, it was however used by both Poland and the ...

(1917) Single-engine one-seat biplane fighter aircraft * Ansaldo SVA.1 (1917) Single-engine one-seat biplane utility aircraft ** SVA.2 Production version of SVA.1 ** SVA.3 Fast-climbing interceptor version of SVA.2 ** SVA.4 Production version of SVA.2 equipped for reconnaissance ** SVA.5 Production version of SVA.2 ** SVA.6 Prototype bomber version of SVA.2 ** SVA.8 Single prototype (purpose unknown) ** SVA.9 Two-seat unarmed reconnaissance version with larger wings ** SVA.10 Armed version of SVA.9 * Ansaldo A.120 Parasol reconnaissance fighter * Ansaldo A.300 (1919) Single-engine two-seat biplane utility aircraft. Three-seat versions were also built for reconnaissance use. * Ansaldo AC.1 () designation for imported French

Dewoitine D.1 The Dewoitine D.1 was a French single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1920s, built by the French industrial company Dewoitine. Development The D.1 was the first airplane designed by Emile Dewoitine after he established his own company. The D.1 was ...

single-engine two-seat parasol-wing fighter * Ansaldo AC.2 (1922) licence-built French

* Ansaldo AC.3 (1924) licence-built French Dewoitine D.9 (a development of the D.1) * Ansaldo AC.4 (1927) AC.2 with 420 hp (313.2 kW) FIAT A.20 engine.

Ships

*, cruiser built for the

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...

, 1899 *, battleship built for the

, 1911 *, built for the

Navigazione Generale Italiana Navigazione Generale Italiana (NGI) was an Italian shipping company. History The company formed in 1881 by the merger of '' I & V. Florio'' of Palermo and ''Raffaele Rubattino'' of Genoa. At the time of the merger, the two companies both operate ...

, 1926 *, cruiser built for the

, 1930 *, cruiser built for the

, 1930 *, built for the

Italian Line Italian Line and from 1992 Italia Line, whose official name was Italia di Navigazione S.p.A., was a passenger shipping line that operated regular transatlantic services between Italy and the United States, and Italy and South America. During ...

, 1931 *, cruiser built for the

, 1934 *, cruiser built for the

, 1935 *, battleship built for the

, 1937 *, aircraft carrier built for the

, 1941 *, Ansaldo Shipyards of Genoa, 1951 *, built for the

, 1960 *, built for the

, 1965

Armored vehicles

* Ansaldo Armored Car (1925) * Fiat-Ansaldo CV-33 (1935- ) *

L3/35 The L3/35 or Carro Veloce CV-35 was an Italian tankette that saw combat before and during World War II. Although designated a light tank by the Italian Army, its turretless configuration, weight and firepower make it closer to contemporary tanke ...

* L6/40 tank (designed by Ansaldo, manufactured by Fiat, 1940- )

Rolling stock

Locomotives

* D.341 * D.345 * E.424 * D.443 * E.402 * E.428 * E.491 * E.492 * E.636 * E.656

References

Ansaldo Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company. It is based in Genoa, Italy. The absorbed parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., started in 1853. It was taken over by Leonardo S.p.A. In 2011, Leonardo S.p.A. sold 45% stake in An ...

Engineering companies of Italy Shipbuilding companies of Italy Conglomerate companies of Italy Multinational companies headquartered in Italy Design companies established in 1853 Manufacturing companies established in 1853 Non-renewable resource companies established in 1853 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1993 Non-renewable resource companies disestablished in 1993 1853 establishments in the Kingdom of Sardinia 1993 establishments in Italy AnsaldoBreda Italian brands Sampierdarena