Riva Group is Italy's largest steel producer and the fifth biggest player in the European steel industry. Founded in 1954 by Emilio Riva, a pioneer in postwar Italian steel, the Group has specialised in the manufacturing of “long” products using electric arc steelworks, and in 60 years of business it has achieved an international leadership, expanding in the main European countries, thanks to high production standards and to a focused and steady strategy of growth and investments. Chaired by Claudio Riva since May 2014, the Group is privately owned and employs almost 5,000 people, with an increasingly qualified presence of high school and university graduates. It has 20 industrial plants located in the following countries: six in Italy, seven in France, three in Germany, two in Belgium, one in Spain and one in Canada. Besides this, nine marketing companies and two scrap recovery centres belong to the Group. Riva Group produced in 2014 about 7.8 million tons of steel, slightly up compared to the previous year (7.6 million), despite lasting difficulties on the Italian and international steel market. Revenues remained stable at 3.6 billion euros and the Group’s market share in the “long” products improved to 12.6% at the European level, confirming its leadership in this important segment. The Group carried out also in 2014 an important investment’s program (worth 70 million euros) aimed at improving the quality of products and processes, of safety conditions in the plants and of environmental compatibility of production. The Group supplies different product areas, some of which - for example mechanics engineering, automotive and earth-moving machines - demand especially high quality standards. Production includes drawn, peeled and ground steel items derived from further cold-rolling processing.