ITALY: Italferr, the engineering consultancy arm of the Italian state railway holding FS Group, has been rebranded as FS Engineering. The decision reflects a desire on the part of the parent company to expand the remit of the business from largely rail-related work to cover the wider civils and construction market.
The rebranding was formally announced on February 5, with FS describing it as ‘a crucial step in its industrial and strategic evolution’. According to the state railway, ‘this is not a simple rebranding exercise, but the culmination of more than 40 years of growth, during which the Italferr legacy has been transformed into a global centre of excellence for integrated and digital engineering’.
FS Group CEO Stefano Antonio Donnarumma said that ‘with FS Engineering, we are shaping an industrial vision in which engineering becomes a strategic lever for growth, innovation and competitiveness across the entire FS Group. It is an integrated, digital model that brings together skills, technologies and data to manage complex projects throughout their entire life-cycle.’
The launch event was attended by various FS leaders and political figures, including Minister of Infrastructure & Transport and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. The rebranded business is to be led by Chief Executive Dario Lo Bosco.
FS Engineering has operations in 15 countries across five continents, and the ambition now is for the business to become ‘a fully-fledged infrastructure technology company’, with a particular focus on digitalisation through technology such as the Internet of Things, BIM and digital twins. FS Engineering says These tools are already being applied in the architectural sector, with FS Engineering supplying a smart monitoring tool for use in St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, for example.
Speaking to Railway Gazette International, FS Engineering CEO Dario Lo Bosco said the rebranding was a ‘step change’ which aligns ‘the corporate identity with leading international engineering players, explicitly leveraging membership of the FS Group and expanding the scope of activities well beyond the railway sector’.
However, he explained that the company’s expertise would continue to be available to support rail and metro projects around the world. He cited ‘concrete examples’ of Italferr’s recent work on the Napoli – Bari high-speed line, the Brenner Base Tunnel and the Terzo Valico dei Giovi corridor in Liguria. Internationally, key recent projects have included the complex design and project management activities for the Rishikesh – Karnaprayag railway in India, delivered through a joint venture with Swiss firm Lombardi, as well as work on metros in Riyadh and Bogotá.
At an international level, Lo Bosco explained that the expanded remit would strengthen FS Engineering’s ability to act as both designer and project manager for major projects, while also leveraging patents and research developed within the FS Group.
A global focus
‘The new configuration as a global engineering firm also enhances attractiveness to investors, industrial partners and top-tier international engineering companies, fostering strategic collaborations and joint ventures. At the same time, positioning as a technology-driven company focused on innovation, digitalisation and sustainability is a key factor in attracting highly specialised talent, consolidating a skills base that already comprises around 3 300 qualified professionals’, he said.
FS Engineering currently has around 30 active contracts outside Italy, he added, of which 15 relate to projects under construction. ‘The total value of ongoing international engineering services contracts amounts to approximately €165m out of €200m in non-captive contracts awarded on the open market. Even more significant is the value of the investments in projects overseen through project management, consulting and works supervision, which collectively exceeds €45bn.’
Looking ahead, Lo Bosco predicted that international expansion would focus on all of the principal geographies, making FS Engineering ‘an ambassador of high-tech Italian engineering worldwide’.
