Lincotek Group celebrates 50th anniversary
September 21, 2023
Lincotek Group, based in Rubbiano, Italy, recently marked its 50th anniversary, with celebrations taking place at the Auditorium Paganini in Parma, Italy. The company was founded in 1973, starting out in a garage. Since then, it has grown into an international organisation with a turnover of over €250 million. The company employs 1,700 individuals across 20 facilities located in Italy, France, Switzerland, the United States, and China.
The company is still owned by the Antolotti family. Nelson Antolotti retains his role as Group President, while his daughter Linda serves as Vice President. Nelson Antolotti shared, “My father decided to retire and gave my brother and me a cheque for 10 million lire (approximately 5,000 euros) with the words, ‘Do something on your own!’ I was thinking of opening a lathe workshop, but there was too much competition in turning; I was shown a METCO gun that performed parts heat treatments. So, I contacted that company, bought some guns, and tried to understand the market. After a few months – in September 1973- in a garage, we started our adventure. That small company borne as Flametal became Unitedcoatings Group in 2010 and Lincotek in 2020 following a major rebranding.”
The company’s recent party brought together representatives of employees, key stakeholders, and business partners, including customers, suppliers, financial institutions, and local institutions.
A panel discussion opened the event and was facilitated by journalist Sebastiano Barisoni. The discussion topic was “Lincotek Past and Future: From local company to global company. Balancing innovation and sustainability.” Guest contributors included Gregorio De Felice, Chief Economist at Intesa San Paolo; Alessandro Chiesi, President of the Chiesi Group; Andrea Pontremoli, CEO of Dallara Automobili; and Andrea Colombo, CEO of Lincotek Group.
The 50th anniversary was an opportunity to reflect on the business’ history and look ahead to future opportunities.
Vice-President Linda Antolotti shared, “Today the company – despite having actually become a multinational business – still maintains those family values. This family culture is connected to the value we give to people within the company. Without our people Lincotek wouldn’t exist. I am proud that wherever you go, from the United States to China, you can still live and breathe this culture of familiarity.”
Andrea Colombo, CEO of the Group, added, “Lincotek was born as a service provider of technological coatings and expanded as a contract manufacturer, but always with the aim of becoming a solution provider for the sectors in which it operates and helping its customers to find the solutions to the important challenges that arise in front of them every day. The future of Lincotek therefore starts from the awareness of the successes of the past and is based on the characteristics that were founding for the past – curiosity, courage, awareness and collaboration – and which will remain the pillars for future evolution.”