Prima Industrie named best performing Italian industrial machinery company

Chicopee, MA—Prima Industrie S.p.A. has been named best performing Italian public company in the industrial machinery sector, and second of all large companies, according to an independent study by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

Rankings of the A.T. Kearney study were based on sales growth and total shareholder return for the period 2004 through 2008. Prima ranked first in sales growth ahead of well-known Italian companies such as Datalogic (8th), Fiat (16th), Finmeccanica (23rd), and the consumer company Campri (24th). During that period, Prima’s sales grew by a compounded annual growth rate of 39%, from 97 million Euros in 2004 to 367 million Euros in 2008.

“This study acknowledges the great achievements of the Prima Group of companies, which includes Prima North America,” stated Terry L. VanderWert, president of Prima North America Inc. “Prima is a world leading manufacturer of industrial laser systems and this study further verifies our standing as a leader not only in our industry but in businesses overall. Prima has operating divisions in 15 countries and manufacturing facilities in the United States, China, Finland as well as Italy. We continue to invest over 6 percent of our annual revenues in research and development, which is one of the key reasons for our standing as an industry leader and for our rapid worldwide growth.”

Prima’s industrial laser machinery is used in the fabrication of metal in aircraft, automobiles, tractors, appliances, and furniture. Long-time uses include companies such as Boeing, Airbus, Fiat, Eaton, Whirlpool, Mercedes, BMW, Rolls Royce, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Volvo among others.