Historical Profile
The establishment of the business
In 1873, Ercole Comerio, the son of a grocery wholesaler in Busto Arsizio, began a job as a mechanical worker at Cantoni-Krumm (which became Franco Tosi in 1881). From this position, he soon became head of the tooling department, where he was able to gain valuable experience.
Having married Teresa Marcora in 1885, Ercole opened his own workshop for repairing textile machinery in Busto Arsizio the same year. The initiative was financially sustained by his brother-in-law, Roberto Marcora, the son of a hardware store owner. The workshop, initially located on Via Confalonieri, was later transferred to via Magenta. In just a few years' time, the individual enterprise of Comerio Ercole, which was originally based on repair work alone, expanded to include the production of machinery for the cotton industry, specializing in machinery for final processing operations (dyeing, bleaching, printing, etc.) for the more advanced and innovative segments of the market. In 1895, the success of this decision forced the business to move to an even more spacious location on Via Silvia Pellico, where it remained for nearly a century.
Moreover, the production was not limited to the local cotton industry alone: in fact, some of the machines, such as the calenders, were used in the rubber and paper industries.
At the outset of the 20th century, Comerio was already a supplier for Pirelli, Ambrogio Binda and Vita Mayer. Technological innovation was guaranteed thanks to a close relationship with engineer Roberto Zust of Intra, a machine tool manufacturer. The company participated in the World's Fair of Paris in the year 1900.
From 1913 to 1945
In 1913, the company was still quite small, employing about 75 workers, but the onset of the First World War provided a significant stimulus for expansion: during the conflict, in fact, Comerio converted most of its production to the manufacture of heavy artillery components for Ansaldo.
In 1922, the company became a joint stock company under the name of Comerio Ercole, with headquarters in Milan. Ercole himself took on the role of company president, while two of his ten sons, Melchiorre and Giuseppe, acted as advisors, occupying positions as technical directors.
Relationships with existing customers were fully re-established and strengthened: the company was well established both in Italy as well as abroad (Switzerland, France, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, etc.). In subsequent years, the company capital was increasingly placed in the hands by Melchiorre and Giuseppe, and the company continued to grow rapidly, largely due to close links with local textile companies (in fact, Giuseppe married the daughter of a local cotton manufacturer, Carlo Ottolini) and outstanding results on exports to South America and Eastern Europe, which were typical emerging markets for the textile products of the Upper Milan area. In 1935, the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the company, Comerio counted nearly 400 employees. In 1937, an additional factory was purchased in Legnano. In this period, during the African campaign, the company even manufactured road machinery and road rollers for the company Loro e Parisini.
During the course of the Second World War, Comerio once again collaborated with Ansaldo for wartime production, and subsequently with the German command. The war provided for a time of generational change.
Rinaldo Comerio, who had previously collaborated with the company for some time, joined the company in 1942 after graduating from the Polytechnic University of Milan.
As of March 31st, 1943, Ercole Comerio entrusted his grandchildren with power of attorney: Mario (the son of Melchiorre) and Rinaldo (the son of Giuseppe), who was initially in charge of the foundry.
In 1944 the head offices were relocated to Busto Arsizio, where the administrative offices had always been, and the company was transformed into a joint stock company.
That same year, the company workers participated in strikes against the regime, which resulted in a crackdown on behalf of the German command.
From 1946 to 1966
During the years of post war reconstruction, the company faced the difficulty of returning to regular work activities. Ercole Comerio died in 1947 and the office of president was assumed by his widow, Teresa Marcora.
By 1950, the company had gotten back on its feet and Comerio was able to actively participate in the growth of the textile sector stimulated by the economic boom. During this same period, however, Comerio was also manufacturing machines for a number of different sectors, including the previously mentioned rubber and paper industries, but also those of wood and metals.
In 1951, Ercole and Mario (the sons of Melchiorre), as well as Alfredo (the son of Giuseppe), all became legal representatives of the company. After the death of the founder's widow in 1952, her son, Giuseppe, assumed the role of president on May 1st, 1953. During the mid-1950s, the branch of the family headed by Melchiorre left the company: in fact, a separation agreement was stipulated in 1954 and, together with his sons, Melchiorre founded the new company, Metalmeccanica, using the Legnano factory already owned by Comerio.
Following Giuseppe's death in 1958, his son Rinaldo became company president, a position which he still maintains today, and his own children, Alfredo, Emilio and Maria Silvia, were all appointed as advisors. Rinaldo's wife, Antonia De Dionigi Comerio, also took on an active role in the company's administration.
The business was growing rapidly, above all in the fields of embroidery machinery and processing machinery for rubber and plastics (PVC). The industrial streamlining undertaken by Comerio, however, was unable to sustain such a large workforce: this resulted in a reduction in the number of employees and the closure of the foundry in 1965.
This decision, which led to serious tension with the workers' union, was also based on ecological issues, since the production facility's iron foundry was now operating within a densely urbanized area.
During the same year, the company's head office was once again moved to Milan and the following year the administration decided to incorporate the trading company Rubber and Textile Machinery SpA into the parent company. At the same time, Alfredo Comerio resigned and was replaced by his brother Emilio as managing director.
During the sixties, the recurrent and increasingly serious crises in the textile industry forced Comerio to devote itself entirely to the vast sector of non-woven fabrics, whose various fields of application were recognized by engineer Rinaldo Comerio during a trip to Philadelphia. In fact, this particular product (synthetic filaments mixed with each other to provide for a heating effect) can be utilized in the automotive, aviation and clothing sectors. In order to stay ahead of the competition, an internal research lab was established.
In 1972, Rinaldo Comerio's son, Giuseppe, a mechanical engineer, became the company's legal representative and the head offices were moved back to Busto Arsizio in 1975. Rinaldo's second son, Riccardo, who had received his degree in political science, was nominated as the company's legal representative in 1984 and became managing director in 1989.
The family continuity in the management and control of the company was therefore ensured by Rinaldo's heir, as his other brothers only had female heirs, who were traditionally not employed within the family enterprise.
In 1996, Comerio abandoned its original establishment, which had come to be engulfed by the town centre, and moved to a new facility on Via Castellanza. In the year 2000, the company employed 175 workers.
The decrease in the number of personnel was due to the establishment of a number of crafts industries throughout the territory, whose businesses were integrated with that of Comerio. Today, the family's fifth generation is also present within the company, with Giuseppe's son, Guglielmo, being employed in the purchasing office for over two years.