Montecatini was an important

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

chemicals company founded in 1888. It was called: ''quasi-monopolist of the Italian chemical industry'' in the time between

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 ...

and 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 ...

. Problems led to a merger with the

Edison company The Edison Manufacturing Company, originally registered as the United Edison Manufacturing Company and often known as simply the Edison Company, was organized by inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison and incorporated in New York City in May 188 ...

in 1966 forming the

Montedison Edison S.p.A. is an Italian electric utility company headquartered in Milan. The company was established in 1884 and acquired by Electricité de France in 2012. Edison employs more than 5,000 people in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. C ...

company.

History

The company was founded as a small mining business in

Montecatini Val di Cecina Montecatini Val di Cecina is a small hilltown and ''comune'' in the province of Pisa in Tuscany (central Italy). Located approximatively south of Pisa, the medieval town sits on the Poggio la Croce hill overlooking the Cecina (river), Cecina ...

operating a copper

pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic Luster (mineralogy), lust ...

mine in 1888. The production increased and a shift from

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

ore production to pyrite production as a starting material for

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

production when Guido Donegani was made director in 1910. Large amounts of

are used for the production of

superphosphate Triple superphosphate is a component of fertilizer that primarily consists of monocalcium phosphate, Ca(H2PO4)2. Triple superphosphate is obtained by treating phosphate rock with phosphoric acid. Traditional routes for extraction of phosphate rock ...

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

s and therefore Montecatini expanded into this business. By 1920 the company had acquired the two largest phosphate fertilizer producers Unione Concimi and Colla e Concimi. The company became dominant in chemical industry of Italy during the time of Fascist Italy. Montecatini collaborated with RIAP of Bergamo and together developed an extrusion machine. Montecatini was also involved in the creation of

Lake Reschen Reschensee (; ; Italian language, Italian: ''Lago di Resia'' ) or Lake Reschen is an artificial lake in the western portion of South Tyrol, Italy, approximately south of the Reschen Pass, which forms the border with Austria, and east of the moun ...

which submerged the village of Graun.

References

{{Reflist Chemical companies of Italy Italian companies established in 1888

History

See also

References