Communications

Florence, 30.05.2008
 
Once again, the award ceremony for "Maestri del lavoro" and "Seniores" with 35, 40 and 45 years of loyal service was an occasion to celebrate the value of experience and to sincerely thank all those whose unstinting efforts have helped to make Finmeccanica what it is today. This year too, the ceremony was accompanied by a title - Experience is value - which has become a hallmark expressing the deeper sense of this event.

This year's event, however, was a special occasion since it coincided with the sixtieth anniversary of the Group - a happy combination that provided another chance to celebrate the role of experience, together with innovation and technological excellence, that has marked the evolution of Finmeccanica.

The setting for the event was Tuscany. "This is an area," said chairman-CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, "where Finmeccanica has deep roots and where several of its historic companies are located. These firms are closely linked to the area and continue to be centres of innovation today."

The event began on May 30 in Florence with a day of prize giving and entertainment, while the second part took place in Pisa on the following day. The Florentine part of the event, set in the impressive surroundings of the 19th century Leopolda Station, was hosted by a dazzling Milly Carlucci, backed up by an excellent Teresa D'Alessandro, who conducted the proceedings in a lively and entertaining manner.

Participants included representatives of local institutions such as the president of the Province Matteo Renzi, councillor for production activities Ambrogio Brenna and municipal councillor for employment policies Riccardo Nencini.
At a certain point, the proceedings were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Gabriele Cirilli who entertained the crowd with a hilarious performance. Then there was also a video presentation covering sixty years of the Group's history, not to mention the first public appearance of the Finmeccanica Store, a virtual shop opening shortly (here in the form of a stand) designed to enhance the brand value and to foster solidarity projects.

The whole event revolved around a focal point - how could it be otherwise? - consisting of the awards and the people receiving them (a total of 1,060 people over both days). During this first day, the award recipients were the "Maestri del lavoro" and "Seniores" with 45 years of loyal service.

First and foremost this event in Tuscany was a celebration of experience, the occasion when Finmeccanica pays tribute to those who have worked for many years to build its present and future. But since it was also the sixtieth anniversary, the opposite took place on the podium in Florence - in other words, the "Maestri del lavoro" and "Seniores" celebrated Finmeccanica.

A particularly symbolic moment took place when, as tradition requires, Pier Francesco Guarguaglini blew out the candles - helped by everyone else - on a cake celebrating Finmeccanica's sixtieth anniversary.

And since we're talking about a party, there had to be music - starting with the Royal Scots Association Pipe Band and culminating with a concert by Lucio Dalla who enchanted the audience with several pieces which have become milestones in the history of Italian music, like Caruso, Angeli and 4 marzo 1943.

Music also played an important role during the next day when the second part of the award ceremony - for "Seniores" with 35 and 40 years of service - took place at the airbase of the 46° Air Force Brigade in Pisa.

The day revolved around an air show with several types of planes in flight and a static display of products from Finmeccanica companies, and the proceedings were accompanied by music from the ?banda dipearitmentale di La Spezia? and from the Naval Academy and the Folgore Parachute Brigade, together with the unmistakable sound of the bagpipes of the Royal Scots Association Pipe Band.

So the setting for this second part of the award ceremony - attended by Altero Matteoli, minister for infrastructures and transport - was a colourful blend of bagpipes, brass bands and flying displays, including a flypast by the Frecce Tricolori acrobatic team.

A touch of conviviality was added to the occasion by the decision not to use the podium for the actual prize giving - instead, Pier Francesco Guarguaglini went from table to table handing out the awards to the prize winners.

All in all, counting up the years of service, we could say that the people taking part in the event represent a large chunk of the sixty years of history that Finmeccanica has written up to now.