MAPEI marks 85-year milestone
By Adam Freill
Construction MaterialsAs it reflects on its international past, which includes building the Olympic track in Montreal, the multinational building materials group continues to look to the future.
MAPEI is celebrating 85 years of success and growth. (Submitted Image)
It was 1937 when Rodolfo Squinzi founded his building materials business in the outskirts of Milan with seven members of staff and the support of his wife Elsa.
Eighty-five years later, MAPEI, which stands for Materiali Ausiliari Per l’Edilizia e l’Industria, has evolved through three generations of entrepreneurs to include business operations in 57 countries, more than 20 product lines, 84 production plants, revenue of 2.8 billion euros, and almost 11,000 staff.
The vision and passion of Giorgio Squinzi, at the helm of the company from 1984 to 2019, along with the constant support of his sister, Laura Squinzi, and the insight of his wife Adriana, helped forged the group’s values of internationalization, research and development, specialization, and sustainability. Support for culture and sport have also helped secure close ties between business operations, the surrounding region and the company itself.
Laura has been chairman of the board of directors since 2019. Also on the board are group CEOs Veronica and Marco Squinzi, and Simona Giorgetta.
“We are treating this important milestone more like a starting line,” stated Veronica. “MAPEI is a company with its heart in Italy and its eyes looking out across the globe. Since our grandfather took that historic first step in 1974 and built the athletics tracks for the Montreal Olympics, we have never stopped investing in new markets.”
“Our deep commitment to innovation and research is still a major part of the entire group strategy,” added Marco. “We are a chemical company manufacturing products for the building industry and the aim of our 32 research laboratories is to come up with cutting-edge products to make building increasingly sustainable by focusing on durability and quality.”
Founded in 1937 in Milan, MAPEI is now one of the world’s leading manufacturers of chemical products for the building industry. The company has contributed to the construction of some of the most significant architectural and infrastructure works worldwide. With 89 subsidiaries operating in 57 countries and 81 manufacturing plants in 36 nations, MAPEI Group employs more than 10,600 staff worldwide.
