Franco Tosi Meccanica
Corporate brand
UnclaimedItalian engineering company producing turbines, boilers, heat exchangers, pumps, and related industrial equipment.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Franco Tosi Meccanica is an Italian engineering and industrial-equipment business based in Legnano, near Milan. Its origins lie in Cantoni Krumm & C., a textile-machinery producer established in the 1870s. Franco Tosi joined that business as technical director in 1876 and redirected much of its technical focus toward steam engines. These engines, initially developed as power sources for industrial looms, became the foundation of the company's expansion and its association with the Franco Tosi name in 1881. Tosi later became the firm's sole shareholder in 1894. During the early twentieth century, the company broadened its engineering portfolio. In 1907 it entered diesel-engine production, serving a market that was expanding in industrial, marine, and transport applications. The company also developed marine diesel technology and established a shipyard at Taranto in 1914. The Taranto operation, known as Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto, built ships and submarines primarily for the Regia Marina and the Italian Navy. Its work included a submarine that achieved a reported depth record in the 1920s. Franco Tosi's marine-engine technology also reached overseas manufacturers: in 1919, the United Engineering Company of San Francisco obtained rights to produce several four-cycle marine-diesel configurations. The business remained active across major phases of Italian industrialization. In the post-Second World War period, it collaborated with General Electric and Combustion Engineering under licensing arrangements involving large steam turbines and boilers based on American designs. The company also manufactured turbine components. Its scale reached a high point in the 1970s, when employment exceeded 6,000 people, reflecting the importance of large industrial machinery and power-generation equipment in Italy's manufacturing economy. The global crisis affecting power-generation-equipment producers in the early 1990s led to a series of ownership and organizational changes. Franco Tosi was taken over by Ansaldo, and in 1993 the combined business became part of Finmeccanica's energy activities under AnsaldoEnergia. Regulatory concerns about concentration in Italy's energy sector contributed to the subsequent reversal of that integration. In 2000, ownership was transferred to Cast Group, and the business adopted the name Franco Tosi Meccanica S.p.A. The company entered insolvency proceedings in 2013, when the Milan bankruptcy court declared it insolvent. In 2015, Presezzi Group acquired the operating business and associated assets, including the Franco Tosi brand, patents, intellectual-property rights, technical know-how, engineering documentation, equipment, work in progress, and order backlog. Under this ownership, the brand remains associated with heavy engineering for energy and industrial applications, particularly turbines, boilers, heat exchangers, and pumps. Its historical identity combines Italian mechanical engineering, power-generation technology, marine machinery, and the continuity of a long-established industrial name.
History
Franco Tosi Meccanica developed from Cantoni Krumm & C., a business formed in the 1870s to manufacture textile machinery. Franco Tosi joined the company as technical director in 1876. Under his direction, the business moved toward steam engines, including engines designed to provide power for industrial looms. The success of this technology helped transform the company from a textile-machinery producer into a broader mechanical-engineering enterprise. Tosi became a shareholder, the business adopted his name in 1881, and he became its sole shareholder in 1894. The company expanded into diesel engines in 1907 as diesel technology became increasingly important in industrial and marine applications. Its marine activities later included the creation of a shipyard at Taranto in 1914. Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto built ships and submarines for the Italian naval authorities. One of its submarines reportedly established a depth record during the 1920s. Franco Tosi's marine-engine business also had an international licensing dimension: in 1919, the United Engineering Company of San Francisco received rights to manufacture four-, six-, and eight-cylinder versions of Franco Tosi four-cycle marine diesel engines. The company's industrial footprint continued to develop through the interwar and postwar periods. After the Second World War, Franco Tosi worked with General Electric and Combustion Engineering to produce large steam turbines and boilers under license. The company also manufactured turbine components. By the 1970s, its workforce had grown to more than 6,000 employees, marking the peak of its scale as a major Italian industrial manufacturer. The international crisis in power-generation equipment during the early 1990s triggered major structural changes. Franco Tosi was acquired by Ansaldo, and the business was subsequently incorporated into Finmeccanica's energy activities in 1993 under AnsaldoEnergia. The resulting concentration in the Italian energy sector attracted regulatory scrutiny. In response, the integration was unwound, and the company was transferred to Cast Group in 2000. At that stage, it took the corporate name Franco Tosi Meccanica S.p.A. On 25 July 2013, the Milan bankruptcy court declared the company insolvent. The business was later acquired by Presezzi Group on 9 June 2015. The transaction covered not only operating assets such as plant, machinery, and equipment, but also the Franco Tosi brand, patents, other industrial and intellectual-property rights, technical know-how, engineering drawings, documentation, work in progress, and the order backlog. The modern business is associated primarily with turbines, boilers, heat exchangers, pumps, and other equipment for energy and industrial applications. Its history reflects the evolution of Italian mechanical engineering from textile machinery and steam power into marine propulsion, power-generation technology, and specialized heavy equipment.
- 2015
Acquired by Presezzi Group
[1]Presezzi Group acquired the business and associated industrial, intellectual-property, technical, and commercial assets.
- 2013
Insolvency declared
[1]The Milan bankruptcy court declared Franco Tosi Meccanica insolvent on 25 July.
- 2000
Transferred to Cast Group and renamed
[1]Following regulatory pressure concerning sector concentration, the company was transferred to Cast Group and adopted the name Franco Tosi Meccanica S.p.A.
- 1993
Integrated into Finmeccanica's energy division
[1]Following its takeover by Ansaldo, Franco Tosi became part of Finmeccanica's energy activities under AnsaldoEnergia.
- 1970
Workforce reaches its historical peak
[1]During the 1970s, employment exceeded 6,000 people.
- 1919
Marine diesel technology licensed in the United States
[1]United Engineering Company of San Francisco obtained manufacturing rights for several Franco Tosi four-cycle marine-diesel engine variants.
- 1914
Taranto shipyard established
[1]Franco Tosi established a shipyard at Taranto for ships and submarines intended mainly for the Italian Navy.
- 1907
Entry into diesel engines
[1]The company diversified into diesel-engine production.
- 1894
Franco Tosi becomes sole shareholder
[1]Tosi became the company's sole shareholder.
- 1881
The business adopts the Franco Tosi name
[1]The company took Franco Tosi's name as his influence and ownership expanded.
Products and positioning
A long-established Italian heavy-engineering brand serving power generation and industrial equipment markets.
Power-generation equipment
Steam turbines
Steam turbines were central to Franco Tosi's twentieth-century engineering identity. The company produced large turbines for power-generation and industrial applications and, after the Second World War, manufactured equipment under licensing arrangements involving General Electric and Combustion Engineering designs. Its work also included the production of turbine components.
Power-generation equipment
Boilers
Industrial and power-generation boilers form part of the company's established equipment portfolio. Franco Tosi produced large boilers during its postwar collaboration with American engineering companies and continues to be identified with boiler engineering alongside turbines and other thermal-energy equipment.
Industrial thermal equipment
Heat exchangers
Heat exchangers are among the equipment categories associated with the modern Franco Tosi Meccanica business. They support the transfer and management of heat in industrial and energy systems, complementing the company's turbine and boiler activities.
Industrial machinery
Pumps
Pumps are part of Franco Tosi Meccanica's current industrial-machinery focus. They are supplied for energy and other industrial applications as part of a broader portfolio of engineered equipment rather than as consumer products.
Engines and marine machinery · 1907
Diesel engines
Franco Tosi entered diesel-engine production in 1907. The company developed industrial and marine diesel capabilities, and its four-cycle marine engines were manufactured under license in the United States during the early twentieth century.
Brand decisions
2015
Acquisition by Presezzi GroupM&ABackground
After the Milan bankruptcy court declared Franco Tosi Meccanica insolvent in 2013, the operating business and its industrial and intellectual-property assets were offered for acquisition.
Action taken
Presezzi Group acquired the business, including the Franco Tosi brand, patents, intellectual-property rights, plant, machinery, technical documentation, work in progress, and order backlog.
Aftermath
The acquisition preserved the Franco Tosi name and its engineering know-how within a new ownership structure.
2000
Reverse integration into the Italian energy sectorStrategyBackground
The combination of Franco Tosi with Ansaldo and Finmeccanica's energy operations created concerns about concentration in Italy's energy-equipment market.
Action taken
Following regulatory pressure, the earlier integration was reversed and ownership was transferred to Cast Group. The company adopted the Franco Tosi Meccanica name.
Aftermath
The transaction separated Franco Tosi from the Finmeccanica energy structure and established the corporate identity used before its later insolvency and acquisition by Presezzi Group.
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