Industria Italiana Autobus becomes (back) Menarini. New owner Seri Industrial announces name change

New owner of Industria Italiana Autobus Seri Industrial has announced on the 16th of October a change in the company name of its subsidiary: IIA goes back to Menarini. Which is the name of the bus bodybuilder (founded in 1919) that originated the history of the company that in 2011 became Industria Italiana Autobus.

The company “returns to the name and brand that have defined excellence in Italian bus manufacturing for generations, renowned for its quality, reliability, and capacity for innovation”, Seri Industrial points out.

What is still unclear is the role that a ‘Chinese partner’ will play in the reorganization of the company, that we summed up HERE.

Seri Industrial: now IIA becomes Menarini

This marks a key step in the strategic transformation process initiated on July 11th, with the integration of Menarini into the Seri Industrial Group. Led by entrepreneur Vittorio Civitillo, Seri Industrial acquired a 98% stake in IIA, effectively becoming the principal owner of the company, that until then had been owned by state companies Invitalia (43%) and Leonardo (29%) with also Turkish OEM Karsan in the ownership structure with 28%. A remaining 2% stake is held by Italian government-owned Invitalia, a government agency, which plays a symbolic role in safeguarding the public interest in this crucial sector of the Italian economy.

Seri Industrial is an Italian industrial company specializing in the production and recycling of materials for various industries, with a particular focus on the energy and automotive sectors. The company is involved in the development of advanced technologies related to batteries, plastics, and other materials.

The Seri Industrial Group states that it now “becomes the first fully vertically integrated European player: from raw material sourcing and processing to the production of lithium battery cells and systems, through to the design and manufacturing of electric vehicles and battery recycling at the end of their life cycle. This change reflects our desire to combine the historic Menarini brand with our vision for the future, aiming for continuous growth and a leading role in the sustainable mobility sector”, quoting from the release by Seri Industrial.