Thank you, and hello to All!

I entitled my speech “From Parma into the world” because it has really been an incredible adventure.

Dear friends and colleagues and our guest customers, good afternoon to all.

Welcome to all of you and to the distinguished guests who have spoken, both politicians and civilian. I am very pleased with your participation, that you are sharing with us this milestone, an important one.

It is with some emotion that I speak to you today, I guess it’s normal  considering an event like this. It is a privilege for me to be here with you and we there are interesting things to go through.

We are at a special location the Paganini Auditorium which is so close to the Leonardo da Vinci Technical School where I studied and got my diploma of electrical engineering technician.

A few blocks away in via Trieste 38 there is another very important place, and that is the workshop where I started my adventure in 1973. There I started my first company with my brother Mauro, and it was called Flametal Parmense, snc at the time, a real craft company, which then was  transformed in Turbocoating and then recently it was rebranded as Lincotek.

This is why we are here today as Lincotek. Since the schedule is rather tight, the organizers had asked me to tell you about 50 years in 5minutes, which at the rate of one minute per decade, was indeed too challenging. So we let a video talk about the company, a short video which we will show you, where we interview all our people. They will tell whether we did good or bad.

Instead, I would like to share with you something practically unseen that has never been published, and that is the part before starting thiswork  before this activity So, there is a person we have to recall, I believe, a very important one, Mario. Mario was my father and he was the one who actually saw the horizon and had a glimpse of the future in this industry by providing both my brother Mauro and I, the resources and the vision, specifically the entrepreneurial vision for our path.

Just think that at 12 he had me drive a Fiat 500 Giardinetta automobile, the famous Giardinetta, the bottle green one. At 14 he sent me to the mechanic of our village to be his apprentice and there I started to work on mopeds, motorcycles for those who are not familiar with the term moped and I souped them up and did some mechanical work. This marked my life. I’ve been very lucky, my father empowered me, I was very independent, he gave me advices then left it up to me, so I got used to take decisions from a young age.

During the summer, for example, I used to go with him and I’d replace him at the olive mill, his job was driving a truck and I’d take over driving it, while at home I drove the tractor. I had a great passion for what was inside engines. In fact, as soon as that  famous Fiat 500 Giardinetta car stopped for good, my brother and I took it apart to see how it was made. There started my passion for mechanics and engines. But although I had studies, as I mentioned as electrical engineer technician,  my passion for mechanics took me first to Fiat Tractors of Turin then to Dallara Car Racing. And I must say that I have been once again very lucky because as electrical engineer technician I applied at Enel too and it went OK, because had I been hired by Enel, I would have been inside an office all my life.Instead, I was very excited for the opportunity I had to design the tractors that I had driven, and especially to design racing cars, and where? Mainly in my own country, so it was fantastic what I was doing.

Therefore, all that we are today  has deep roots. Mario was our rock, our dad, and today, on the Centenary of his birth 1923-2023, we remember him with sincere gratitude, I am so pleased.

Lincotek, it’s 50 years and doesn’t look it, because our collaborators’ average age is a little over 35, young people, but with good experience.  Indeed, many have formidable experiences, some have been over 44 years with us. 38, 35, 30 it’s a lot of years, indeed a crucial experience. So I say to youthanks, thanks guys, I always call them my guys.

Thanks to all who have worked with us until today both as partners, and I’ve had many, and ascollaborators.

We have worked together with passion and this passion has brought the best results. We have faced challenges, but with courage, determination and enthusiasm and we have overcome them. Our passion has been the bond and we  had a lot of it. You have been great travelling companions peerless, thank you.

We crossed many phases, I am going to mention one: internationalization, setting up the management team adding managers at the company. The growth phases both organic as well as through acquisitions,  and we had a few.  In these last 10 years, we have shared our path with financial partners twice, and we learnt from each other.

All together we grew 5 times in 10 years. In 2012, we were 350. Today, 350 the graduates in the company out of 1700 in the group. This has been not just a numerical growth, but a cultural, significant one. And you did all of this, you are fantastic!
Thank you, collaborators. The future is exciting.

Our collaborators define all this a success, and if they insist a bit, I’ll believe  it too. But what I firmly believe is that this is a good beginning. Our responsibility is to guide Lincotek towards the future, so that it an continue to expand, prosper and offer employment opportunities.

The baton is now in Linda’s hands, my daughter, who guides the company with competence and passion.

My leadership transition to Linda is a sign of our commitment to preserve and expand the legacy of Lincotek.

Lincotek is already a mature business, supported by managers that play a crucial role in the sectors where we operate, and ensure business continuity.

When we look at the past we see the important objectives obtained thanks to the partnerships with you, with our customers.

We have worked together and achieved significant results Thanks again! Ours is not a simple company-customer relation, but true partners and travelling companions. Many of you have been with us  for over 30 years, our motto has always been: “Our customer’s success is our success”.

We feel an integral part of your businesses and we will always do our best to meet your needs. Thank you for the trustyou place in us.

This is the “strength of partnership”. But this result has not been planed from the beginning, but it has been guided by a clear vision, I have always dreamed of a global company that provides the same service with the same quality throughout the industrial world. And some quotes here: “He who fixes a star does not change his mind” Leonardo used to say, while Seneca said: “There is no favourable wind for the sailor who doesn’t know where to go”.

This vision will guide us also in the future. I would like to thank and welcome into the Lincotek family the new partners, the managers and the collaborators of the companies that have joined in recent years. Your family business spirit and your passion suit perfectly our group and we are thrilled to have you on board.

I have stressed the importance of the passion that guided us, yet sometimes too much passion can lead to mistakes even irreparable ones. I would like to apologies and thanks to My family.

My job took a lot of time and we had to give up important  occasions …

I am sorry. The time I did not dedicate to my young  daughter is not coming back ever..

Thank you!

 Nelso Antolotti