Opening branches abroad doesn’t necessarily mean taking wealth and jobs away from Italy. Many Italian multinationals have their headquarters in Italy along with numerous international branches. Mozzanica, a "pocket-sized" multinational, is on the same path.
When news breaks about an Italian company opening new branches abroad, the public often assumes it's the first step in a strategy to move away from Italy, potentially leading to the gradual closure of domestic operations—and with it, the loss of jobs and expertise.
While there have been (and still are) some prominent examples of companies following such a strategy, it would be wrong to generalize that this is always the case.
Instead, we should analyze the picture in its entirety (across all sectors of the economy) and its complexity: opening a branch abroad can be a sign of a thriving company led by a management team focused on growth.
Looking at the full picture, the data tells a very different story—a story of investments that have generated an ecosystem of wealth, some of which has benefited Italy despite originating from the much-criticized international branches.
What the numbers say
Let's start with the Third Italian Innovation Report, developed by the Confindustria Research Center in collaboration with Assoconsult and Il Sole 24 Ore, which presents Italy as a good performer in the context of international competitiveness, and performed better, in fact, than the other major exporting countries examined in the study.
While most countries recorded export volume declines exceeding 1.5% in the decade from 2012 to 2022, Italy held steady at a more than acceptable 0.8% decrease (for example, Germany, often held in high regard, lost 1.8%, and Japan saw a 3.7% decline).
This stability in export performance has earned Italy the sixth position globally among the highest-exporting countries; from January to June 2024, Italy's ranking even rose to fourth.
And if we consider only European rankings, Italy ranks second, surpassed only by Germany (a nation that absorbs as much as 12.8% of Italy's exports!).
These impressive results are thanks to a diverse group of companies across a wide range of sectors. Beyond the three F’s-Fashion, Food, and Furniture-Italy excels in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, high-precision optical equipment, auto parts, as well as products like ceramics, tanned and processed leather, fine leather goods and saddlery, furs, cut stones, and steel tubes, conduits, and accessories. Italian companies are able to reach 40.3% of potential global markets (for reference, China, with all its “firepower,” reaches a paltry 68%), leveraging two key elements: on one hand, exceptional product quality and on the other hand, a strong, direct presence in each market.
In light of this, the opening of a new international branch should be considered a benefit to the entire Italian economy and not just the company itself.
ISTAT data backs this up as well: Italian foreign subsidiaries in the industrial sector (9,319 units, plus 14,784 in the service sector) employ nearly one million people (57.7% of the total), generating around 280 billion euros in revenue (56% of the total).
Of this revenue, over 30% comes from the manufacture of vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers; followed by machinery and equipment manufacturing not elsewhere classified at 11.6%; while electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply contributes 10.3%.
Today, Italian multinationals export to 175 countries; ISTAT data shows that at the end of 2022, there were 24,103 active companies (9,319 in industry), employing a total of 1,769,264 people and generating 499,432 million euros in revenue.
The ISTAT study on the structure and competitiveness of multinational companies also highlights that 46.7% of Italy’s largest multinational industrial groups (down 5.8% compared to the previous two-year period) and 40.6% of those in services (up 3.5%) had completed or planned new foreign investment projects for the 2021-2022 period (the two years taken into account by the survey on the foreign activities of Italian controlled companies).
The propensity for foreign investment among medium-to-large multinational groups has also grown but to a lesser extent, with rates at 20.6% in industry (up 4.1%) and 21.2% in services (up 0.9%). Smaller multinationals showed a rate of 10.5% in industry (up 1.4%) and 7.6% in services (up 1.4%).
It is also worth highlighting other insights that emerged from the research: among the main motivations behind new foreign investments, reducing labor costs is a major driver for only 12.5% of companies making new foreign investments; a substantial 78.3% indicated that the primary reason for establishing a direct presence abroad is the opportunity to access new markets.
Finally, two other factors are considered crucial: increasing quality and developing new products (22%) on the one hand, and gaining access to new knowledge or specialized technical skills (17.2%) on the other.
Which foreign markets are most attractive
The United States, Romania, Brazil, China, Spain and Germany are the foreign markets that attract the most Italian companies
For Italian companies, the top choice for opening a branch abroad is the United States, where more than 150,000 employees are currently based. Next are Romania, Brazil, China, Spain, and Germany.
New foreign branches established by Italian multinationals in 2021-2022 were aimed at both industrial and service enterprises. These new openings primarily focused on the production of goods and services (32% for industrial enterprises; 35.5% for service enterprises) and on distribution/logistics (22.9% for industrial enterprises; 17.6% for service companies). Marketing and sales activities follow at 21.9%, along with post-sales services, including support centers, at 14.7%.
Italians making an impact abroad
As we have already mentioned, it’s not only the well-known Italian brands in Fashion, Food, and Furniture that have expanded beyond the Alps.
Prestigious names in banking and insurance, like Assicurazioni Generali SpA and Unicredit SpA, have also established a strong presence internationally. In construction, Webuild stands out, while the Benetton Group is a key player in apparel.
In the food industry, Lavazza and Barilla are significant examples, with headquarters in Italy but numerous branches abroad.
Another company that continues to maintain its roots firmly in Italy while looking abroad to seize greater opportunities for consolidation is Mozzanica.
Demonstrating its commitment to Italy, this Osnago-based company opened a new location in the Marche region this year while also strengthening its international presence with a new project underway.
The dual geographic strategy is clear: to position itself closer to areas with high client concentration in the Marine, Industrial, and Oil & Gas sectors, ensuring constant, top-tier service.
In all these sectors, a rapid response is essential in case of equipment damage; and preventive action through regular maintenance is just as crucial.
Mozzanica therefore reaffirms its guiding philosophy: to be a dynamic Italian multinational with a well-distributed network of operational locations to guarantee maximum efficiency, rapid response times, and a team of trained technicians and engineers ready to tackle any challenge.