ITALY 29 October 2008 Olivetti empire founded 100 years ago on Utopian ideals

Camillo Olivetti, with 20 workers, began producing typewriters in 1908. A century later the Olivetti empire is one of the top Italian players in the information technology marketplace. Along the way, Adriano Olivetti, the son of the founder, transformed his father's shop-like operation in Ivrea into a modern factory. It was built around Utopian ideals and proved to be a formula for profitability. A Olivetti postage stamp, exhibitions and conferences from September to Jan 09 will mark the centenary. 

Adriano Olivetti preached that people practicing the Utopian ideal of community life, respecting each other and their environment, can avoid poverty and war. Adriano’s plan doubled the output in five years, and he shared the gains by increasing salaries and benefits for the company's workers.

Under his leadership the company emerged as Italy’s second leading exporter of mechanical devices and Europe’s principal manufacturer of typewriters and business machines. The company also manufactures calculators, microcomputers, writing systems and related goods.

The Officina Carte Valori dell’Istituto Poligrafico and Zecca dello Stato S.p.A has marked the centenary with a stamp depicting one of the first typewriters produced by Olivetti, the company logo and the red stone building in Ivrea that was the first factory. Over 3 million of the Olivetti stamps, designed by Gaetano Ieluzzo, have been issued.

The main centenary events take place in Ivrea, organized by the Adriano Olivetti Foudation, at the town's San Bernadino Church, an Olivetti family posession, and at Olivetti headquarters. The exhibition “La Programma 101” (the first Olivetti calculator) runs from 15 Sep to 15 Dec. A conference “Olivetti Innovazione” (Innovation Olivetti) in Ivea is set for Dec 12-15. Jul/08

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY NEWSAHEAD EUROPE CORRESPONDENT VALENTINA DELLO RUSSO, WHO IS AVAILABLE FOR FREELANCE ASSIGNMENT. EMAIL: vale.dr@libero.it

RELATED LINKS:
Olivetti
http://www.olivetti.it/

The Adriano Olivetti Foudation
http://www.fondazioneadrianolivetti.it/

Press Office Fondazione Adriano Olivetti:
Francesca Limana tel. 0039 06 6834016 – 0039 347 9840743

Olivetti S.p.A. (Smart Computing Encyclopedia)
http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/dictionary/detail.asp?guid=&searchtype=1&DicID=18379&RefType=Encyclopedia