Who will get on the buses of Italian industry with Leonardo and Invitalia?
The Ministry of Business and Made in Italy has ruled out that the books of the Italian bus industry can end up in court. But now we need to find 50 million and a new shareholder who will contribute a large part of it, essential to making it to the end of the year
“A beautiful Italian story”. This is how the company behind Industria Italiana Bus is defined on the group's website . “The history of Industria Italiana Autobus is the history of collective transport. A journey begun in Bologna, in 1919, by Menarini. Since then we have been building buses to move people efficiently, safely and sustainably, while respecting the environment.” However, the reality is less romantic.
THE SOBBING RACE OF THE TRICOLOR BUS
And the journey undertaken by the Italian bus sector looks more and more like one that commuters in the capital waiting for a bus know well, including delays, skipped stops and engines that start to sob if not even smoke. Because the company owned by Leonardo (28.65%) and Invitalia (42.76%), therefore publicly-led (the only private shareholder is represented by the Turks of Karsan, which holds 28.59%.) is now in one state of perennial crisis with the activities of the former Irisbus in Flumeri (Avellino) and the former BredaMenarinibus in Bologna. In the meantime, the government has asked for a new driver, depositing the president and managing director Antonio Liguori and the entire board at the first possible stop.
THE NEW BOARD OF INDUSTRIA ITALIANA BUS
The new driver of the tricolor bus is Walter Perrotta as the new president but above all Giancarlo Schisano (he was Managing Director of Leonardo's Aerostructures Division from 2018 to 2022, with a past in Railways) sits in the hot spot of the CEO. Fabio Barsotti, Ciro Accept and Roberto Rizzardo are the directors. The well-informed immediately noticed that there are no members representing the Turkish quota. A sign that Karsan could soon ring the bell to book the next stop and get off board.
URSO WANTS TO GET OFF THE BUS?
But the government also seems impatient to leave Industria Italiana Autobus to its fate, with Minister Adolfo Urso who, despite the name of his department (Made in Italy), no longer seems to believe in the story of the 'Italian champion' and guest of the Forum in Masseria di Bruno Vespa he had to admit: “Serious mistakes were made by those who decided to entrust the group to a public consortium. A large Italian company which should be the second bus manufacturer after Iveco and which is unfortunately blocked. But we will intervene on that too ”. In short, every reference to the conduct of Giuseppe Conte 's government is wanted.
THREE POSSIBLE NEW MEMBERS
Between the end of April and the beginning of May, the disengagement of the government in the Italian bus industry seemed to take days, as reported by Il Mattino : "After the numerous rumors of the past months, it emerges from ministerial sources that the presence of three of interest for the acquisition of shares in the company with offices in Bologna and in the Ufita valley, in Irpinia“. Discussions would have been started to understand the intentions of the Portuguese of Caetanobus, of the Civitillo group from Caserta and of Grupponi which already has factories in Alta Irpinia. But then everything slowed down again and the engine of the Italian group, which had already been sobbing before, showed signs of breaking down.
URSO GUARANTEES (ON TIMES).
It is not known whether, pending the negotiations or waiting to find really interested buyers, the government has decided to avert bankruptcy, but in fact, in the last few hours, while the Group's workers protested under its windows, Urso guaranteed that for the moment the company's papers will not end up in court, but the new management will have to approve the new business plan by the end of July.
A plan which for the umpteenth time will have to provide for a relaunch of the Bologna and Flumeri plants and which for the umpteenth time will ask for a new injection of liquidity to be put into the tank. 50 million euros are needed to guarantee production activities between now and the end of the year, there are over a thousand buses in the portfolio. Then, apparently the line of the executive, there will be no other aid. The goal is to find part of this money through the entry of a second private partner.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/chi-salira-con-leonardo-e-invitalia-sugli-autobus-di-industria-italiana/ on Mon, 10 Jul 2023 05:54:11 +0000.