Il Sole 24 Ore – Synthetic leather from Corsico to Vietnam

After China, Vietnam. Coronet, a Milanese company (from Corsico) specializing in synthetic leathers for the footwear, clothing and furniture sectors, starts production in the new factory with an investment of 20 million dollars.

Announced a couple of years ago, this new stage in the internationalization and “rebirth” of the Lombard company follows the 2005 landing in Guangdong province, China. The industrial area where the Vietnamese production center is located – about 100 kilometers from the capital, Ho Chi Minh City – “enjoys a ten-year tax exemption,” explains the president of Coronet, Umberto De Marco. The branch, which today covers an area of ​​15 thousand square meters, will be further expanded from the end of 2016: with this planning, the total production capacity now rises to 30 million square meters per year, which will be increased to 40 million at the end of next year.

At the origin of the international choice of the group founded in 1967 by Enrico De Marco, there are several factors: the company grows (the Milan office is joined by the Velletri and Cisterna di Latina plants) and the initial specialization in synthetic leathers destined for the supply chain footwear industry, there are also productions destined for technical sports footwear and clothing. Until the mid-2000s everything went well, then, from 2008, the tsunami of the global crisis, which did not spare even Coronet and in particular the reference sectors: footwear and textile-clothing.

Turnover falls (it was 56 million at its peak in 2002) and losses are growing (the highest, 36 million, in 2005; 10 million in 2008). A process of transformation and restructuring begins. Furthermore, the choice of the East is far-sighted, because most of the world’s footwear is produced right there and Vietnam alone, for example, is among the top five producers, with exports worth over 7.2 billion dollars in 2013.

The relaunch is based on self-financing and Italian management, also in China and Vietnam. Thus, after the dark period and a decisive rationalization (employees go from 343 to a hundred) Coronet last year returned to profit and closed 2014 with a turnover that touched 27 million euros and an EBITDA of 5% . For 2015, the goal is to reach 33.5 million in revenues and an EBITDA of 10%: the pre-crisis data is approaching.