The history
The history of a company cannot be separated from its founder’s history.
The birth and growth of engineer Giuseppe Volpe and IGV are no exception.
Families, atmospheres, chanceful encounters and coincidences, fates, severity, dreams, obstinacy, successes. Everything merges, from the Naples sea to the foggy Milan, since the far 1930 up today.
1930
Giuseppe Volpe was born in Albanella, in the province of Salerno, where he spent his childhood. He graduated in engineering at the Polytechnic of Naples and on January 2, 1958 with just a tiny sum of money in his pocket he leaves to Milan. Thanks to his first job at ENPI (The Italian Accident Prevention Body) he falls in love for lifts. The engineer realises he wants to be an entrepreneur and he sets to work.
1966
In 1966, engineer Giuseppe Volpe founded IGV, his company for the manufacturing of lifts. IGV has small headquarters of just 100 square metres in Zanella street, in the east suburbia of Milan. A few employees: a designer, a worker, a secretary. The company manufactures pushbutton panels. Later, electric devices for automatic doors. Then, the manufacturing is widened and includes the components needed for a complete lift. Later, complete lifts are manufactured and sold to more than thousand installers in Italy. At this point, the small company surface is not enough and IGV moves to Valvassori Peroni street, in larger headquarters.
1972
Manufacturing directly some of the components and having externally manufactured only 30% of the finished product, the company takes off. Since then, the IGV growth never stops. In 1972, the company buys the land for the Segrate plant. During the same year, the first issue of “Elevatori” magazine is published.
1981
In 1981, the company grows further and moves to Vignate, in the Milan hinterland area. The plant covers a surface of 20,000 square metres and there is also a testing tower for lifts.
1993
IGV is the first Italian lift company to obtain a quality assessment certification.
1998
The research and development accounts for 2% of the turnover relies on 8 people, three engineers and five experts. It is thanks to research that in 1998 IGV launches the DomusLift, the personal lift for the removal of architectural barriers. In a short time, sales reach 30% of IGV turnover.
