Another chapter in the history of Mario Levi is illustrated by the prestigious international magazine Auto&Design.
Journalist Ali Filippini celebrates the 70th anniversary of the company, founded in 1946 by Mario Levi Gattinara, and now a leader, with its 25 years of experience, in the leather processing sector for the automotive industry. The article goes over the entire history of ML from the beginning, right after the post-war period, when Mario Levi, aged 21, was a founding member of a tannery in Ciriè, in the Lanzo valleys, not far from Turin. The products were intended for manufacturing footwear – at that time supplies for the automotive sector were far from reality.
Mario Levi-Gattinara learnt the trade by attending the tanning school in Turin, the most prestigious one in the country at the time along with the one in Naples, and later graduated in industrial chemistry.
A long-serving consultant to the United Nations for industrial development in Latin America, as well as a consultant of the Industrialconsult of Rome for feasibility studies in South America, Mr. Levi was a prominent figure in the industry right from the start.
The Fifties were flourishing years for the company, which fitted perfectly with the great ferment of the period for the reconstruction and rebirth of Italy. Then came the launch of production in the Veneto region, followed by the step that will lead to production abroad, first in Somalia, then Venezuela and back in Italy in the Seventies. Back in Turin, the company started working with the automotive industry, obviously starting with the Fiat group, and namely the Alfa Romeo brand, to then gradually expand its range of partnerships.
The two children of the founder, Elisa and Guido Levi Gattinara, currently the president, supported the company and took its helm, launching a strong geographical expansion in the Nineties. ML thus increased its manufacturing capacity, becoming entirely independent in terms of the selection and supply of raw materials, also by opening new branches in Italy and abroad.
And the industrial process was further extended over the past 20 years thereby completing the chain with the production of finished covers.
In short, this is the story – reported in the international magazine specialised in design – of the company that, thanks to its hide culture and a forward-thinking business policy, has managed to carve out a leading role at an international level.

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