ITT’s award-winning Innovation Center in Barge, Italy reflects that Bela thinking and Inspiration we strive for every day.

In 2018, businesses in the United States and Italy invested nearly $30 billion to expand and enhance their presence with their transatlantic neighbors. Compared to the early 2000s, that’s more than three times the amount of foreign direct investment between these two countries, and the amount of exports they generated jumped more than 10 percent in just the last year.

This cross U.S.-Italy relationship is getting more crowded by day, so it was no easy task for the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy to choose the best 10 investments from the past year. In a strong field that included store and office openings, acquisitions and industrial projects, the Chamber picked ITT’s striking new Innovation Center in Barge, Italy, as one of its top winners.

The 4,500-square-meter building is designed to enhance a culture of inspiration and innovation for ITT’s Motion Technologies (MT) business, which develops friction and safety technologies and brake pads for the cars and trucks we drive. To stimulate teamwork, collaboration and creativity, this futuristic building features an “open work” concept with silent booths, working sofas, stand-up desks – and a noticeable lack of doors – instead of the usual cubicle-and-closed-office plan of most standard office spaces.

Every day, the 120 employees who work in the Center decide where they want to “set up shop” depending on their work needs and work mood. Personal items are stored in lockers, and everybody –including top company leaders – follows the first-come, first-serve rule with no reserved workspaces.

“Just as there are no fixed ideas, in the Innovation Center there are no fixed offices,” says Carlo Ghirardo, President of ITT’s Motion Technologies business. “From top to bottom, this building is designed to bring together professionals from different disciplines and departments to dream about the future, create new ideas and keep us growing strong.”

On December 5, representatives from the U.S.-based ITT Inc. joined 850 other global business leaders in Milan to accept our award for investing in this innovative, Italy-based building.

“It is essential today to strengthen the ties between the U.S. and Italy,” says Giuliano Tomassi Marinangeli, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy. “This transatlantic axis is a strategic element for the growth and development of our global economy.”

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