Our Story
Innovation has always been at the heart of Nuova Metalmeccanica. We have pursued a continuous path of technical advancement and skills development throughout our history.
Origins
The story begins in the 1940s, when Domenico Fortuzzi, a technical specialist at Italcementi, relocated with his entire family from Bologna to Monopoli to oversee the construction of a new cement plant — choosing an Italian posting over an overseas assignment in Dire Daua, Ethiopia.
Galatina
In 1953, Fortuzzi’s expertise was called upon once again, this time in Galatina, where Fedelcementi S.p.A. was taking shape — a cement plant that would be officially inaugurated in 1956.
The founding of Metalmeccanica Salentina S.R.L.
In 1964, Domenico Fortuzzi’s long-held ambition of building his own company finally became a reality. Together with his son Alberto and son-in-law Espedito Bellantuono, he established Metalmeccanica Salentina Srl, a steel fabrication and mechanical engineering firm based in Galatina. The newly founded cement plant provided an immediate and natural market for the company’s products and services, while the plant itself gained a local, well-equipped engineering partner — with machinists, turners, fabricators and welders on hand. These were skilled trades that had been largely absent in the Salento region, an area traditionally rooted in agriculture rather than industry.
Growth
Under the leadership of Alberto Fortuzzi and Espedito Bellantuono, Metalmeccanica Salentina — “a small company with outstanding performance” — went on to serve the cement, lime and plaster industries, as well as a wide range of other industrial sectors throughout the 1970s and 80s. The company built significant technical partnerships with leading names including Ansaldo, Italimpianti, Elex, Humboldt, Claudius Peters, Breda, Loesche, Hazemag and Hirschmann.
The founding of Nuova Metalmeccanica S.R.L.
At the end of 1987, Nuova Metalmeccanica Srl was established, bringing in new shareholders Valente, Nardelli and Tartarini alongside the longstanding Bellantuono and Fortuzzi families. The new company inherited the technical expertise and people of Metalmeccanica Salentina and began operations in January 1988, focusing on the design, fabrication, assembly and maintenance of machinery and plant equipment for the nearby Fedelcementi cement plant in Galatina (later acquired by Colacem S.p.A.) and Cementir S.p.A. in Taranto.
National and international expansion
Activity expanded rapidly across Italy and then beyond its borders, with the company contributing to the construction and commissioning of new cement production facilities in Tunisia and the Dominican Republic.
Expanding into the marine sector
With the creation of the Marine Division, Nuova Metalmeccanica extended its engineering expertise into the nautical and marine environment — designing and delivering complete mooring systems, docks and marine structures for ports and marinas, as well as infrastructure for water sports and leisure tourism.
Innovation and specialisation
Building on decades of accumulated technical knowledge, the company has developed a broad portfolio of high-technology equipment, machinery and plant systems deployed in some of the most demanding and innovative sectors in modern industry. These include underground material and bulk handling systems — such as those used in tunnel boring machine (TBM) operations — as well as environmental and filtration technology, including large-scale dust and emissions control systems such as bag filters, electrostatic precipitators and hybrid filter units.