A look at Italy’s oldest elevator company’s experience
submitted by Codebò S.p.A.
More than 100 years have passed since Codebò S.p.A., Italy’s oldest elevator company still in operation, started its business in 1905. This was a century in which we moved from the bicycle to the electric car, reaching the point where a million people a day are transported.
Techniques and needs have changed, and new materials have been created, but our values are the same as they were a century ago. Five generations have succeeded each other at the helm of the company, passing on knowledge and enriching it, while improving quality and reliability. This family tradition, which continues to guide the actions and inspire the values of Codebò, constitutes a fundamental wealth of experience that is the first guarantee of an excellent result for all customers.
In all these years of activity, Codebò has acquired various certifications, such as:
- The title of “Historic Enterprise of Italy;” the company is also registered with the Unioncamere in the “National Register of Historic Enterprises.”
- The certificate of compliance with the UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 standard for our “Quality Management System” for the IAF:28 sector in the activities of “installation, maintenance, repair and technical assistance of electric and hydraulic elevator systems used for the transportation of goods and people, and of stair lift systems.”
- The certificate of compliance with the UNI ISO 45001:2018 standard, for its “Worker Health and Safety Management System.”
- The certificate of compliance with the UNI EN ISO 14001:2015 standard, for its “Environmental Management System.”
- For the execution of public works, the certificate of “Qualification for the Execution of Public Works,” Category OS4, Class III.
We have achieved all this with an eye on the present and looking to tomorrow: We strive to stay ahead of the curve and to intercept the world to come. Both memories and the future enable us to safeguard the existing and build the new. This is why, in 2012, we chose to bring our Turin headquarters to a building at risk of abandonment, within the area of Mirafiori — which in the recent past represented not only the national automotive hub but also the symbolic place of an entire, complex period of Italy’s industrial history.
The building was completely renovated in just over a year, with a project that revolutionized its pre-existing structure and intended use with innovative, functional and aesthetic solutions and renewable and cutting-edge materials. We made it a place full of light, energy efficient and 100% clean, surrounded by greenery.
In 2021, Codebò debuted its first social report, producing the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Report, which attests to the company’s commitment to environmental protection and social responsibility issues.
Codebò performs daily ordinary and extraordinary maintenance service on a panel of approximately 7,000 elevators.
Finally, we would also like to highlight a project of which we are proud, as it was taken up by us as a real challenge with history: the modernization of the elevator system of Moncalieri Castle, located at the private apartments of Princess Clotilde of Savoy. This was a project that excited and enriched us, a perfect combination of modernity and tradition, reflecting our corporate philosophy and a look to the future based on a usual certainty: our experience.
Codebò’s commitment has always been evident in the high quality of service and attention paid to the customer. The accuracy and precision of maintenance services, technical assistance and 24/7 emergency response, combined with professional expertise, have always been the cornerstones that underpin the company’s philosophy, which places the customer and his trust at its center. The pursuit of excellence and the strong orientation to the quality of work, over time, have rewarded the company, which has steadily developed in the Piedmont market, attracting more and more new customers. This is an achievement that rewards experience, efficiency, dynamism and the search for cutting-edge solutions while never losing sight of respect for the environment. These are the values by which Codebò has always been inspired.
The continuous search for the ideal balance between technology and elegance, the proposal of tailor-made products and services that offer the most advanced technological solutions while always maintaining an aesthetic in line with the Savoy and Baroque context, in which our installations frequently fit, are a stimulus for increasingly dynamic and multifaceted designs.
Today, looking to the future means improving quality of life, starting with that of our employees, and making our customers’ lives peaceful and safe. To boast the title of Historical Enterprise of Italy (Impresa Storica d’Italia) is an honor, and at the same time, the impetus that prompted us to obtain recognition of a complex of certifications of our management systems that cover all aspects of our business: quality, occupational health and safety and environmental management.
Experience, quality and efficiency have enabled us to join the vertical-transportation leaders in Italy. This makes us proud and, at the same time, aware that we must maintain and improve our achievements. Technology is our future.
Key Dates in Codebò History
1865
Paolo Codebò was born in Genoa, Italy. At the age of 21, he emigrated to Argentina in search of fortune, only to return to Italy 18 years later and be hired at Stigler mechanical workshops — at the time the largest elevator company in Europe.
1905
The sole proprietorship “Codebò Paolo” is founded in Turin, Italy, as Stigler’s dealer for Piedmont and specializing in “maintenance, repair and installation of elevators.” The company grows over the years, installing systems in the most prestigious buildings in Turin, becoming a supplier to the Royal Household.
1931
When Codebò died, he was succeeded at the helm of the company by his two young sons, Giovanni (born 1902) and Pietro (1904). Together, the two brothers continued their father’s business under the company name of “Ditta Codebò Paolo dei fratelli Giovanni e Pietro Codebò.”
1952
The two brothers decided to separate and dissolved “Codebò Paolo,” continuing to operate in the industry through independent businesses. Thus, the sole proprietorship “Codebò Comm. Giovanni” was born. The company, which carries out maintenance and repair activities for more than 400 systems of its own installation, becomes the exclusive dealer and representative of Bassetti, a Milanese elevator manufacturer.
1959
The economic boom is also characterized by massive and chaotic building expansion, making Italy the country with the highest number of elevators in Europe. Giovanni decides the time is ripe for change and makes a deal with Bassetti Elevatori, becoming the exclusive dealer for Turin and Piedmont.
1962
At a very delicate moment for the company, which is about to become autonomous and no longer bound by concession agreements, Giovanni Codebò dies. He is succeeded by his son Umberto, then 29 years old, who becomes full owner of the company that bears his name, side by side with his father’s.
1979
A new generation, the fourth, enters the company alongside his father: first Andrea, who takes care of the technical side, and then (in 1981) Gianluca, who takes care of the administrative and commercial side.
1991
The decision to focus on the centrality of the services offered proves to be a winning one and makes it possible to overcome the building crisis of the 1980s: Codebò becomes a limited liability company and continues its consolidation. As the number of elevators in charge increases to more than 6,000 today, the company ranks among the leading players at the Italian level.
2006
Codebò changes its corporate profile and becomes a joint-stock company, testifying both to its considerable growth in turnover and to its reliability, including capital. These transformations are accompanied by the increasingly relevant role in the company of Andrea and Gianluca, who confirm a long family tradition.
2012
Codebò’s growth is reflected in the change of the company’s headquarters from the historic premises in Via Amerigo Vespucci to the innovative structure in Corso Tazzoli, marked by bio-sustainability and respect for the environment. At the same time, the organizational model also changes, becoming managerial and marked by a clear separation between the three business units: technical, commercial and administrative.
2019
Sustainability, innovation and respect for nature are the shared values that lead Codebò to increase its use of renewable energy and diligent use of resources, going so far as to equip itself with an electric car charging station and expand its fleet with electric technology. In 2019, Andrea Codebò was elected President of Anacam, the Italian Association of Elevator Construction and Maintenance Companies. This position has been reappointed for a second mandate.
The Elevator Market in Italy
- Italy was the country with the largest number of elevators installed (now approximately 850,000 units) for approximately 50 years.
- In Italy, 10,000 elevators are produced every year, and the industry has a turnover of around EUR2.3 billion, mostly from the provision of services.
- In Italy, inspections of existing elevator systems must be carried out every two years (or whenever there is a recommissioning following major modifications, transformations, accidents, etc.) by a licensed and registered engineer belonging to a notified body that has obtained ministerial authorization. It is no coincidence that the European legislation in force today has substantially taken its cue from our national regulations.
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