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Our founder, Pietro Odobez, was born in Bixond in the French Jura in 1802, was a blacksmith and moved with his family to St.Etienne. At the age of 25, he emigrated to Italy; he married and for about three years worked for the Panavicini company in Bergamo as a forger.

At the end of 1830, he moved with his family to Castello di Lecco, where he worked as a blacksmith and forger for the Cima company and then worked for the Antonio Badoni company until 1836.

From 1836 to 1840 he worked at Vittore’s Ditta Fratelli Carrera in Rancio di Lecco, Via Panigada, where he settled with his family.

In 1840, the Carrera brothers, who were now advanced in age and had no sons, and since they had great confidence in him, proposed that he take over the entire workshop complete with donkey-head knitting machines, coal forges, silicon grinding wheels and various equipment, all powered by hydraulic wooden wheels, with water derived from the Gerenzone stream via a small river.

Pietro Odobez accepted on 6 January 1840 and took over from Mr. Carrera with his sons Pietro and Giovanni, leaving them the usufruct from the production and began to dedicate himself to the production of war, agricultural and construction artefacts such as artillery components, bayonets, blacksmith’s grips, sledgehammers, shovels and pincers.

All these components were entirely handmade and could take more than a week to make.

At the time, Lecco was under Austrian rule, being part of the Lombardy-Veneto kingdom, and production was very much linked to the historical/political situation characterised by numerous wars.

Pietro Odobez died in 1855 and his sons continued their father’s business until 1890.

In the meantime, they participated in the campaigns with Giuseppe Garibaldi between 1860 and 1871.

From 1890, only Pietro continued the activity with his sons Giovanni Battista and Felice, because his brother Giovanni emigrated to Argentina, to Zarate (Buenos Aires), where he married, took up another activity and gave birth to a new family stock with which they have always maintained contact.

The brothers Giovanni Battista and Felice continued with their father Pietro in the production of various forged tools and, after purchasing land adjacent to the workshop from the Carrera heirs, expanded by building new sheds.

Until 1900, all the Odobez family retained French citizenship.

Between 1900 and 1912 they began to manufacture shank clamps, various products for hardware; for agriculture and construction; they also started iron wire drawing.

In 1925 Giovanni Battista, after liquidating his brother Felice, took over the company and continued the business with his sons Pietro and Ambrogio (veterans of the 1915 – 1918 war).

They took innovations in production by investing in new electrified machinery, while keeping the water-wheel driven plants in operation.

In 1961, Ditta Odobez S.p.A. was established with partners Pietro, Ambrogio, Piero son of Ambrogio and Francesco son of Pietro, who gradually converted production to forging special common steels and super alloys. The drawing shop, the production of shank vices and various tools that had become uncompetitive were discontinued.

In the year 2000, Odobez s.r.l. celebrated its 160th anniversary under the administration of Pietro Odobez son of the late Ambrogio, Giovanni Odobez son of Pietro and Attilio son of Pietro.

On this occasion, the new Industria Metallurgica Odobez s.r.l. moved to Ballabio in Valsassina, where, thanks to substantial investments, it added to the forging department an efficient mechanical workshop able to offer turning, milling, boring and grinding processes.

In 2017, IMO (an acronym for Industria Metallurgica Odobez) moved to a new, modern facility in Pasturo (LC) in Valsassina and remained administered by the Odobez family with Giovanni Odobez di fu Piero and Stefano Odobez di fu Attilio. Here, it has upgraded its production capacity by adding a new 5000 ton press, two furnaces and a 30 ton manipulator to its two 650 and 1800 ton presses, all set in an area of 10,000 square metres – 6,000 of which are covered.

In 2023, IMO purchased a new industrial area of 6400 square metres adjacent to the current one, where it will build a new factory of around 4000 square metres indoors by 2026.

IMO is still run by the Odobez family, and with the entry of Giovanni’s son Lorenzo into the company, it has reached the seventh generation.

On 6 January 2025 IMO will celebrate 185 years since its foundation.