The history of Sice Previt has distant roots. After the First World War, Giovanni Tonini, an engineer with origins from Trentino, worked as a designer and works director on projects for dams and hydroelectric power stations at the office of Engineer Omodeo in Milan. The works carried out, both in Italy and abroad, were major land transformation projects. These were the years of the first earthquake-proof dams, where innovative ability combined with experience enabled the construction of grandiose works with little machinery and many hard-working arms. Following his experience at SIAF, where he specialised in the design of aqueducts, he founded the first company in the history of the Tonini family, ‘Tonini & Colombo’, a company operating in the hydraulic works sector.
Following the Second World War and in a country in need of reconstruction, Tonini founded a new construction company: ‘Ditta Ing. Tonini’. Tonini’s strength and determination are reflected in his great passion for the mountains, in his commitment to life, like that required by a summit climb, in his sense of freedom and justice, and in his pride at belonging to the Alpine Corps. These, together with the values of honesty and seriousness are those that still today not only form the foundations of Sice Previt, but also guide it in an ever-changing world.
In 1961, Tonini founded Sice S.r.l. (Società Italiana Costruzioni Edili) and Previt S.p.A. (Prefabbricati Vermiculite Italiana), in which his son Leonardo, a highly specialised engineer to whom we owe the development of the industrial prefabrication branch, also worked.
In addition to his work as a builder, Leonardo Tonini launched several entrepreneurial initiatives in the 1970s and 1980s to disseminate new construction systems. Thus, together with other entrepreneurs, he set up numerous companies, operating in Italy and abroad, which spread new construction ideas that were the result of a comparison between different professional skills.
The untimely death of Engineer Leonardo in ‘85 led his daughter, Arch. Monica Tonini, who took over from her father, to reorganise the company, focusing on the building construction and renovation sector. In order to strengthen the offer, a collaboration was started with Programma Edile, an expanding company led by a young engineer, Arturo Caprio, the son of two generations of industrial plant entrepreneurs. The professional and sentimental understanding led to the merger of the two companies, under the name Sice Previt with 40 employees.
These early years were dedicated to the integration of the two realities and the expansion of customers in the fashion sector until the first carpentry workshop was established in the 2000s. The new specialisation allows, while remaining in the construction sector, to enter the sector of supplying luxury retail shops. This new stimulus, as well as the far-sightedness of the owners, soon led to the introduction of the metal carpentry department, which works on both construction and furniture, and later the Steel, Decoration, Marble and Glass departments, thus offering customers an all-round collaboration.
Traditional customers are increasingly being joined by the brands protagonists of fashion and design, who are projecting Sice Previt abroad and into the future.
“The roots of the two families tell a common story of innovation, research, and valuing the people who have made it possible to achieve great things. It is a gift that Arturo and I have received and that we try to pass on to future generations with the same enthusiasm.”
Arch. Monica Tonini and Ing. Arturo Caprio
A friend once compared the workers of Sice Previt to the tortoise in the Roman army. The tortoise was an infantry formation, designed for a squad of legionnaires, armed with the gladius and the broad, sturdy square shield. The shields were raised above their heads to create a compact cover, which allowed them to advance while sheltering from arrows and bullets and concealing their true numbers. The legionaries could thus march up to a minimum distance from the enemy lines and, when the deployment was broken, hand-to-hand combat began. Never was a definition more fitting and never was a compliment more welcome.
Describing Sice Previt and its corporate philosophy is not easy, what is certain is that the reason for its success is to be found in the mentality of the people who work there.
Thanks to this, the company has overcome great challenges and earned a leading role in the high-end construction and shopfitting sector. The legacy and all the lessons learnt are encapsulated today in the biographical books ‘Mano d’opera’ and ‘A regola d’arte’ available on the website. The main character expressed in these books and representing the workers of Sice Previt is honesty, towards oneself and others. Honesty as an absolute prerogative of the owners of the company since its foundation.
Honesty towards customers, but also towards employees and suppliers.
Create a company made of people and not just capital and machinery. The assets of a company are the people who work there, they are the ones who really make the difference. This is the dream of the owners, Ing. Caprio and Arch. Tonini.
Sice Previt’s solidity also lies in its capital and machinery. Sice Previt is a solid company, which has always reinvested the profits generated by its business in the company, especially in research and in the constant renewal of its production lines, with the acquisition of state-of-the-art machinery and equipment.
In 2013 Segrate Oggi dedicated an in-depth article to us, as an entrepreneurial reality rooted in the town for over 50 years and still in full development. We recognise ourselves in the fine portrait sketched by the author, Beppe Maseri, who not only presented our activities but also emphasised the...
In 2014 we had the opportunity to publish a first-person account of our company in Dedalo, the magazine of Assimprendil Ance (the association of construction companies in the provinces of Milan, Lodi, Monza and Brianza). Written by the architect Monica Tonini, co-owner of the company, the article briefly retraces the history...
In 2022, during a refresher course attended by Sice managers at Bocconi University, we attracted the attention of trainer and management expert Marina Puricelli, who decided to come and visit our factory. From that visit emerged a beautiful article published in the University's online magazine, SDA Bocconi Insight. Dedicated to the...
In this beautiful interview carried out by the editorial staff of Dedalo (the magazine of Assimpredil Lombardia, the sector association that brings together companies active in the building industry), the owner and president of Sice Previt Arturo Caprio outlines the guiding principles and entrepreneurial choices that have shaped the historic...