There is a company located between Modena and Bologna whose products embody steel and precision: beams, merchant bars, and sheet metal. Its core business is the trade and processing of steel and hydraulic products. However, it is between the lines that you will discover the secret to building a thriving business as well as a sense of community. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo Colletti interviews Claudio Antonio Testi, sole director of Socfeder.
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri and Francesca Aufiero
Some stories begin with symbols. These can be simple, almost ordinary objects, that somehow become icons... or even, good luck charms. They anchor us to our history, strengthen our identity, and help us shape the pages of our future. They are powerful. This story starts with a good luck charm: a horseshoe hung at the entrance to a small garage. It’s 1955. We’re in Modena, but this could take place anywhere in the world. Wherever a couple “both in life and at work” chooses to do things properly. From that wrought-iron object emerges a company's story, and from the company comes a community's story.
The history. A young man who, at twenty-five, dared to go out on his own is named Franco Testi. His wife, AnnaMaria Morselli, is an accountant: precise, visionary, and… superstitious. She’s the one who insisted on using the horseshoe as their symbol. Iron and luck. And a strong desire to build. Iron as a craft, luck as a horizon. That's how Socfeder was born: a company now in its third generation that, seventy years on, continues to grow with the same tenacity as at the beginning.
The workshop from the past has become a business with twenty thousand square meters of indoor and outdoor space (at its main headquarters on Strada San Cataldo 107 in Modena), plus a branch in San Lazzaro di Savena, in the Bologna area. The company has a staff of around 30 people in Modena and 8 in Bologna, a turnover exceeding 25 million euros, and more than 1,600 clients. However, numbers don’t tell the whole story. This is because at its core, the lesson remains the same: you can grow while staying true to yourself. “What sets us apart is continuous improvement while remaining faithful to our origins.” The speaker is Claudio Antonio Testi, sole director of the Soffeder-second generation, who has assumed the leadership role. Meanwhile, at 96 years old, Franco proudly observes the third generation. “Both my children, Tommaso and Matilde, are currently involved in the company”, Claudio Antonio explains. It has not been a smooth ride. The 2008 crisis posed a serious challenge. “Looking back, the most difficult time was definitely the 2008 financial crisis, but we came out stronger than before. Then a war broke out in Ukraine, and raw materials prices tripled. And yet, like iron that can bend without breaking, Socfeder managed to endure”, Testi continues. There have also been moments of joy. As part of its seventieth anniversary celebrations in 2025, the company travelled to the Po Delta: “Many people attended, and we spent a day together discovering places in our region and enjoying an experience that was all-around positive from a social, cultural, and environmental perspective, in line with our company’s compass that guides us each day”, Testi recalls. This proves that business is built upon a community, and behind every sheet of metal or beam, there are people and relationships.
People at the centre. Our products embody steel and precision: beams, merchant bars, and sheet metal, seamless Dalmine Tenaris pipes, and fittings for civil systems. “We mainly deal with steel and hydraulic products trade and processing. Since 1980, we have invested in machines that ensure the highest quality processing in accordance with our ISO 9001 and EN 1090 certifications”, recalls Testi. Socfeder's product range isn't the only thing that sets it apart from its competitors. It is the way in which the company operates. In the 1970s, to support those arriving from southern Italy seeking employment, the company decided to offer employees apartments at affordable rents. This addressed a major need and generated countless benefits. Since then, this model has survived and grown. Furthermore, an additional 1,200 euros was added to the housing welfare programme for each child born to an employee. Sustainability has become part of their DNA. The company has been a Benefit Corporation since 2021, and a B-Corp as of 2025 - the first steel business in Italy to achieve this certification. “What matters most today (and our underlying goal), is the happiness of all company stakeholders. This includes employees, customers, suppliers, financial institutions, and the local community”, continues Testi. The examples are numerous: a photovoltaic system that covers 60% of energy consumption, company vehicles that are all electric or LPG, and sourcing from local suppliers to reduce emissions. Embracing digital innovation “We use a warehouse program that manages orders and delivery dates based on incoming orders. AI is the logical extension of the digitalisation journey we started twenty-five years ago”, Testi concludes. The future will look like this: digital, sustainable, human. What matters most is making these values the core mission of the company. Seventy years later, the horseshoe is still there. It is no longer just a good luck charm, but a sign that business and lifestyle can truly coexist. Beneath the hard, unyielding iron beats a heart filled with passion.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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