Piacenza 1733
Piacenza 1733 is an historical Pollone wood mill, born in 1733 in the province of Biella and specialized in the manufacture of sophisticated fabrics made by fine fibers.
The origins
The business has been run by more than ten generations of Piacenza family since 1773: one of the more recent ancestors was Felice Piacenza (1843 – 1938), a businessman passionated to botany, promoter of the Biella Industrial Union at the beginning of the XX century and founder of the Wool Mill School for the training of qualified workers.
In the last years the company, presided by Riccardo Piacenza, his son Vittorio, and his grandsons Enzo and Carlo, focused on the production of cashmere. So, in the ’90s, it launched a cashmere knitwear and accessories collection, addressed to international markets, and, in 1993, it opened an headquarter inBeijing, charges of the raw materials quality controls.
The crisis
In 2009 the economic crisis damaged the textile sector, and so Piacenza 1733 too, which during those years, in particular in 2011, saw his turnover halve and was forced to use many capital increases. Nevertheless since 2013 turnover had increased at the point that in 2017 it reached its pre-crisis values, which was 44 million euros.
In 2013 the headquarters and the company were expanded too, thanks to a 4 million euros investment. The conduct of Carlo and Guido, exponents of the 13th generation, made the company join the Elite plan, wanted by Milan Stock Market to support companies in their growth.
The company, which is part of the narrow international group Les Henokiens (including European companies which are more than 200 years old, which still are in good health and which are leaded by the heirs of the founders), already includes exponents of the 14th generation: Carlo’s sons, Ettore and Vasiliy, and Guido’s son, Felice.
The expansion of the group
During the last years, Piacenza 1733 strengthening projects have been being addressed to the acquisition of companies which they share values and knowledge: so, in November 2020, the company acquired Biellan Lanificio piemontese; in November 2022 he took control of 100 % of Lanificio Cerruti, another historical company in the Biellan area, while in December 2022 he took control of Arte Tessile, handmade company born in 1984 in Busto Arsizio and specialized in designs for jacquard and raschel fabrics.
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Contacts
Regione Cisi, 13814 Pollone (BI), Italy
To read the item in Italian click here.