This experienced manager was well aware of the potential of this sector in Italy where, in the midst of a host of small technologically competitive producers that complemented one another in terms of products and services, there was no group that could be compared with the colossus in the sector.  

With extensive experience in the sector, Salvatore Ruggeri was aware of the fact that his Company's success would depend largely on its capacity to meet its clients' needs as much as possible.  Extending and diversifying the range of products was essential for attaining this goal.  At the beginning of 2002, this enterprising entrepreneur, along with his son Massimiliano, travelled more than 20,000 km by car in just two months, looking around to find companies that would fit in with his plan and a structure in which production could be set up.  He found the right premises near Rivanazzano -  an almost new building with 5 bays 12 metres high.  Thus the process started that in the words of the chairman himself can be defined as an “acquisition campaign” and within a year the Company had taken over a number of famous brands in the sector:  Tormene, Vitas, Delta Valves Europe, Rotor, Thevignot, Vanadour, Dyna-Lok, Sealmatic and Diversified Energy Products. In addition to attaining the goal of extending the range, these acquisitions also allowed significant results to be achieved:

Acquiring well-known, quality brands from leading operators in the sector and therefore included in the relevant vendor lists.
Adding human resources with prior experience in the valve field to its commercial and production departments.

Due to Salvatore’s fame, already well known in the area due to his experience with the Grove group, after a single insertion more than 350 job applications were received and very soon the company had 85 operators, most of which already had experience in the sector.
Thanks to the experience gained during his career Salvatore Ruggeri was fully aware that, for any activity, success was determined mainly by the people involved. Strong in this knowledge, at the time of setting up the company, he set about involving people that had shown great professional skills and that shared his passion and enthusiasm for their work over the years. These people included the Sales Director Tony Ellis that, in addition to having the courage to move from London to the countryside near Pavia, was able to outdo himself in terms of turnover year on year, by working seven days a week.

During the same period, further acquisitions followed, always with a view to tackling new opportunities in the market by offering items with greater technological content and making their products stand out more and more.   Tecnoforge stood out among these, a company that had three plants in Northern Italy and that specialised in the production of fittings. This operation allowed the Group to draw benefit from commercial synergy and economies of scale to the point that, at the end of 2005, it almost doubled its turnover that went from 110 million in 2004 to 212 million.    This acquisition was also an important step forward for the ONE STOP SHOP philosophy.  VALVITALIA’s management had realised some time before that its clients saw concentrating orders with a single supplier as an important facet, and many of the acquisitions that the Company managed to achieve over the years were specifically based on this objective.   The excellence of production, along with the capacity to satisfy their clients’ every need thanks to tailor-made products based in these needs, led to the Company becoming the leading independent operator in the sector.  The strategy of diversifying their range, based on this intuition, proved day by day to be one of the determining factors in the Group’s success.

VALVITALIA (Suzhou) Valves Co was founded in order to produce valves intended for the downstream segment.  Subsequently Valvitalia India was opened, as well as trade offices in Algeria and a joint venture with the Abdel Hadi Abdullah Al Qahtani & Sons company in Saudi Arabia, to create a company especially for assembling valves intended for the Saudi Arabian market. The group’s expansion strategy led to the opening of a new production plant, Valvitalia Emirates in the Arab Emirates and trade offices in Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Houston, Lugano, New Delhi, and Kuala Lampur.   Once again the Company’s management showed that it was ready to take advantage of any chance for development, increasing its penetration precisely in the countries that had led the way with strong economic growth.

Salvatore and his sons Massimiliano and Luca control 51% of Valvitalia via Finvalv the family’s financial company.  Also 4% of Valvitalia is owned by the management team.  Involving management in taking risks with the company shows their respect and trust in Salvatore, who has always worked with his employees and allowed them to share in the ups and downs of the Company’s destiny. This option was undoubtedly a winner -  this shareholding has proved to be one of the driving forces behind the Group's development.  The remaining 45% is held by a Private Equity Fund.

VALVITALIA is proof of how the enterprise, intuition, and passion that have always been hallmarks of its people, Italy is still able to put forward economic and entrepreneurial undertakings of great value internationally, as has always been the case.

Turnover (in € million)
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