The origins In 1919, when the First World War ended, thousands of Italians had to reorganise their lives from the beginning. In the same period, Enea Mattei, a young officer in the Army Engineering Corps, had to decide wh......The origins In 1919, when the First World War ended, thousands of Italians had to reorganise their lives from the beginning. In the same period, Enea Mattei, a young officer in the Army Engineering Corps, had to decide whether to accept a secure job in the Engineering Corps or try to pursue his individual aspirations. Though aware of the limited financial resources he had at his disposal, the young Mattei started off on the compressed air industry, following his marked disposition for entrepreneurship and exploiting the experience he had gained in the Engineering Corps. Moreover, at those times, the compressed air industry had not developed yet. Development and success in the Italian market Fifteen years later, Mattei air compressors became a well-established reality in the Italian market and in 1934 the firm manufactured the first portable compressor with diesel engine. In 1938 Mr Enea Mattei took over a cast iron foundry in Monza, and thanks to the good prospects in the market, he started building a new plant in Milan, in via Feltre. Nevertheless, when the Second World War broke out, the business experienced a sudden rest. As reconstruction began, however, the activity started again and between 1946 and 1952 Mr Mattei committed himself to enlarge and renovate his company. From the post war up to the present In 1960 Mattei became a Joint Stock Company and a new plant in Vimodrone, near Milan, began to be built. The factory opened in 1966, also thanks to the contribution of Mr Contaldi, the CEO. In 1977 Ing. Enea Mattei Spa took over Officine Meccaniche Ing. Contaldi, a market leader in the generating sets industry. Four years later a new production centre in Zingonia, near Bergamo, was founded and between 1985 and 1988 exclusive distributors in USA, UK and France were opened. The German exclusive distributor was inaugurated in 2000. Today Mattei holds a leading position in the Italian market and operates worldwide with 100 distributors and exports 50% of its production. The companys success is also confirmed by the ISO UNI EN 9001 Quality Management System obtained in 1994.