Go throughout our history
Over 70 years of experience
And three centuries of know-how
Know-how, foresight and passion, combined with the courageous entrepreneurial spirit of its founder, represent the key elements that allowed Pellegrini Meccanica to become a world-class brand. Pellegrini is synonymous with tradition and quality in all phases of ornamental stone.
Our history goes back more than three centuries: the first evidences of the presence of the Pellegrini family among pioneers in stone processing in Valpolicella dates back to 1697.
The immersive experience in his marble quarry helped Marco Terzo Pellegrini in shaping his disruptive approach to the industry. Supported by valuable coworkers, Marco gradually introduced new technologies that have often become a paradigm also for other companies in the stone industry.
For more than 20 years, Elena Pellegrini has been taking the reins of the company towards a new era of modernization of its production tools and global expansion of its commercial footprint, especially in developing countries.
Our past reminds us of where we come from and what shaped us as we are today.
Birth of Marco Pellegrini
Marco Terzo Pellegrini is born in Pastrengo (Verona). The passion for the stone industry was part of his DNA and has grown in Marco since he was a kid: indeed, Pellegrini family had been involved in marble processing for generations.
Marco completed his academic studies in Switzerland and became a mechanical engineer.
The first machines
A 27-year-old Eng. Marco Pellegrini was striving for an improvement in efficiency for his family quarry. This desire led him to build his first machines.
Officina Meccanica “La Sant’Ambrogio” was a result of his entrepreneurial spirit: founded in 1957, it will later change its name in OMP (Officina Marco Pellegrini).
The “Officina” started its rise in the stone industry and has always been well regarded valued for the quality of its products and the wide range of its services.
Foundation of Mostra Internazionale del Marmo
Marco Pellegrini was one of the 8 “Great” founders of the Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella International Marble Exhibition.
The Valpolicella area gained a lot of prestige in the industry thanks to this event, which also led to a tremendous growth of the stone sector. The Exhibition had also a relevant social impact as thanks to this event, the Italian tradition and technological excellence were exported all over the world.
Moving the temple of Abu Simbel
Marco Pellegrini and his team provided technologies and assistance for the stunning feat of moving the Abu Simbel temple. This operation saved this symbol of the Egyptian culture from the risk of being flooded and destroyed by the Nile river.
Headquarters change
The company headquarters was moved from Illasi (VR) to Viale delle Nazioni in souther Verona city. This is where the company is still located today, close to the Verona Trade Fair.
First edition of MARMOMAC in Verona
The experience gained from several participations at many international fairs led Marco Pellegrini to be one of the key promotors of Verona’s Fair MARMOMAC, which has replaced the one in S.Ambrogio di Valpolicella, after some years of coexistence. Here Marco showed again his forward-looking approach for exports, as he contributed to the internationalization of the exhibition in Verona: today MARMOMAC can be considered the most important event in the world for the sector, with 30,000+ visitors each year.
ACIMM Foundation
Marco Pellegrini was one of the founders of ACIMM (Associazione Costruttori Italiani Macchine per Marmo e Affini – Association of Italian Marble and Related Machinery Manufacturers). At that time, Marco realized that Italian stone processing machine manufacturers needed a representative entity to unite around, and ACIMM was the result of this need.
Mr Pellegrini was President from the year of ACIMM’s foundation until 1983 and he remained the Honorary President until 2009.
Creation of Pellegrini Meccanica SPA
Officina Marco Pellegrini (OMP) becomes “Pellegrini Meccanica SpA”. The rebranded company always kept a focus on balancing the push for innovation and the tradition and the quality excellence of the past.
The first DIAMANTFIL
Marco Pellegrini demonstrated his forward looking one more time by producing the first frame for block squaring and slab cutting. For the first time, a diamond wire from an American company was used for this kind of operation.
This is DIAMANTFIL, a machine that will become iconic for Pellegrini and that has pushed several firms in this industry to the usage of this technology.
The first DIAMANTBAR
The first electro-hydraulic plant for cutting with diamond wire was started up in a quarry in Carrara.
DIAMANTBAR DBH 25 made this possible. It was the first of a series of machines that would later find application outside the stone sector too, as in the demolition of reinforced concrete structures and in the sectioning of foundry waste.
The first TELEDIAM
TELEDIAM was first installed in a quarry in Roman Travertine (Bagni di Tivoli). This is the first diamond wire sawing machine whose movement is directly driven by an electric engine and whose tractive effort is controlled by a feedback controlled electronic circuit.
This have been the first of a series of machines that have become another milestone for Pellegrini and that are present in quarries all over the world.
The first TELEDIESEL
The first diamond wire sawing machine directly driven by a diesel engine was first used by a marble quarry in Custonaci (Trapani). It is the TELEDIESEL, a series of machines that can be used
in all those quarries which arre not equipped with electricity.
Partnership with Diamant Boart
The Belgian Group Diamant Boart was one of the most important diamond-tools producers in the stone industry.
Marco Pellegrini signed an important partnership with this Group, leading the way to the worldwide spread of Pellegrini brand and to the development of innovative machines, like the “POLYWIRE” multiwire frames and the ROBOTWIRE profiling machines.
The first TELEVAR
Pellegrini presented the TELEVAR electric sawing machine for quarries which gave the possibility of varying the speed of the diamond wire linearly; this allowed to use this cutting technique even on non-calcareous materials.
The first POLYWIRE
The first POLYWIRE multiwire machine for cutting slabs from a block of granite was installed in Buddusò (Sardinia). This was a step change in the cutting of non-calcareous materials, both in terms of huge improvement in cutting speed and the decommission of the abrasive mixture traditionally used.
Elena Pellegrini becomes CEO
Marco Pellegrini appointed his daughter Elena to lead the company.
Since 1992, she was already member of the company’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Elena Pellegrini’s background was enriched by her studies in Computer Science at the University of Pisa and by her previous managerial role in the office automation department of an important multinational company.
Thanks to her know-how, she started a technological “revolution” that led also to a relevant expansion of Pellegrini’s commercial offer. This push for innovation, combined with Elena’s ability to relate to customers from diverse cultures, allowed the company to gain success in uncovered markets.
The first DF 1200 SHV
Pellegrini presented the DF 1200 SHV, a diamond wire splitter machine that allows marble or granite slabs of small thicknesses (2-3 cm) to be split into two halves with high precision. The results of this process are light “stone panels” used to build skyscrapers, cruise ships, yachts and “executive” aircrafts.
The first ROBOTWIRE EVO
The expertise developed since 1990 in the design of profiling machines led to the development of ROBOTWIRE EVO. It’s a diamond wire profiling machine with 7 controlled axes that can produce three-dimensional profiles with the highest precision.
The first LA ROSSA SCANNER
Pellegrini presented LA ROSSA SCANNER, a machine provided with 4 bridges, each supporting a different tool, which makes it possible to produce different surface finishes on marble or granite slabs.
The bridges can be used independently or simultaneously.
Pellegrini joins PNA
Pellegrini Meccanica joins Pietra Naturale Autentica (PNA) association. This network brings together many companies of the stone industry, united in promoting the sustainability of natural stone in a sector increasingly full of unnatural and polluting products. This mission is summed up by the payoff “No fake”.
The first TRIMWIRE
The first TRIMWIRE machine was installed in a Grece marble quarry. This mobile machine is inspired by the iconic Diamantfil, but it is mounted on a track.
It allows squaring and/or cutting directly in the quarry, without the need to move the raw blocks from the quarrying site to the processing site.
Elena Pellegrini joins the Board of Confindustria Marmomacchine
Elena Pellegrini became a member of the board of “Confindustria Marmomacchine”, the Italian Association of Manufacturers and Processors of Marble, Granite and Natural Stones, and of Manufacturers of Machines, Plants, Tools and Complementary Products for their extraction and processing. Confindustria Marmomacchine has been giving active support to the sector, and it has been carrying out different technical and professional training activities, in Italy and abroad.
The new DIAMANTFIL ®
The new DIAMANTFIL ® was presented. It marks a turning point in terms of technology: this version is compact and follows the “green” philosophy started by the company.