Our History
It all began in the early 1970s, in and around Reggio Emilia in the Po Valley, with growing interest at industrial level in the production of machinery for gardening and forestry uses. First it was Ariello Bartoli, who in 1972 founded Oleo-Mac, a young and vibrant company, which quickly made a mark with the assembly of chainsaws on an industrial scale. Then in 1978 came Giacomo Ferretti who set up Efco, a company that grew steadily to become a leading manufacturer of brushcutters, for which there was already a healthy market demand at the time.
Emak was created in 1992 through the merger of Oleo-Mac and Efco. In 1996 the new company got the Certification to ISO 9001, which confirms that Emak meets the quality provisions of the standard at all stages of the operating cycle. In 1997 Emak set up a remote hub at Pozzilli, in the province of Isernia, Italy, dedicated to the production of lawnmowers. In 1998, Emak was quoted on the Milan Stock Exchange. In 1999 the company started to go international and set up 5 subsidiaries in Europe through the acquisition of its importer on each of the main markets (Germany, France, UK, Spain and Belgium). In 2000 Emak is rated 1 by Dun & Bradstreet as a company of high business and financial reliability. In 2001 Emak is included in the STAR index of the Milan Stock Exchange. In 2004 the Chinese company Emak Jiangmen is set up, with a factory dedicated to the production of hand-held products aimed at price-sensitive markets. Between 2005 and 2006 the Group expanded its international presence by buying out its Polish distributor and creating its US subsidiary. In 2006 the company secured certification to ISO 14000 (Environmental Management) and SA 8000 (Social Accountability). In 2008 the group acquired the Chinese company Tailong, maker of cylinders for internal combustion engines, and Bertolini, a long-established manufacturer of small agricultural machines.
In 2011 Emak acquired Epicenter (Ukraine) and widened the range of markets served by going into new segments: Pumps and High Pressure Water Jetting (PWJ) and Components and Accessories (C&A) through the acquisition of Comet, Tecomec, Sabart and Raico. The pursuit of growth continued in 2012 with the creation of the Comet do Brasil subsidiary and the acquisition of Valley Industries, a US company involved in the marketing of products for the PWJ sector. 2013 and 2014 were years of consolidation for the PWJ and C&A businesses, with new companies joining the Group: Master Fluid (PWJ - urban cleaning), SI Agro Mexico (PWJ - commercial branch), Geoline Electronic (C&A - precision farming), Speed South America and Speed Industries (C&A – production and packaging of lines for brushcutters).
In 2015 the Group invested in the Brazilian company Lemasa, a local leader in the ultra high pressure pumps (PWJ) sector, whilst 2016 brought the acquisition of a 30% stake in Cifarelli S.p.A. In 2017, thanks to the acquisition of the Lavorwash Group, Emak completed and strengthened its positioning of Emak in the PWJ segment. In 2018 Raico was sold and the Brazilian company Spraycom (C&A) was acquired. In 2019 the Group purchases a 30% stake in Agres (Brazil).
During 2020, the group continued to expand in the Components and Accessories segment: in January it finalised the acquisition of 51% of the share capital of the Swedish company Markusson Professional Grinders AB and in October it increased its stake in Agres to 91%. In October 2021, the group finalised the acquisition of 80% of Poli S.r.l..
