ACT lights up Hong Kong Airport with a €40 million project
(Clicca qui per leggere la versione in italiano/ Click here to read the Italian version)
Gino Cocchi, Chairman of ACT: “We’re brightening up Hong Kong Airport with a €40 million project.”
Bologna – The founder of the Aretè Cocchi Technology group explains: “We respond to international turbulence by looking to the future. We invest ten percent of our revenues.”
He calls himself “a young old man.” Born in 1940, Gino Cocchi is the Chairman of Aretè Cocchi Technology (ACT), an industrial group with a mission to innovate and expand internationally. For twenty years, he served as CEO of Carpigiani, a world leader in ice cream machines, and played a key role in the revival of Cattabriga, another historic company in the sector acquired by Carpigiani.
In 2010, he founded ACT, specializing in niche technologies for mechanics, electronics, and scientific applications. Fluent in English, Spanish, French, and German, Cocchi now looks ahead: “Our goal is to reach €250 million in revenue and €300 million in orders by the end of 2026,” he says, announcing a €40 million contract from Hong Kong International Airport for a two-year project.
What are the details of the project?
“Our Bologna-based division, OCEM Airfield, was awarded the contract to upgrade the airfield lighting system for the South Runway and taxiways of Hong Kong Airport.
The project includes replacing more than 8,000 LED lights and 150 constant-current regulators, laying and testing around 1,200 kilometers of cables, and installing MCCB panels, UPS systems, test platforms, and software for control, configuration, and testing.
This further strengthens OCEM’s partnership with the Hong Kong Airport Authority, which has lasted for over twenty years.”
How will the installation be carried out?
“Hong Kong is one of the busiest airports in the world. The runway work will be done three nights a week, in six-hour windows, without affecting normal airport operations.”
How is ACT navigating global instability?
“We stay focused on the long term. The war in Ukraine wiped out our Russian market, worth over €20 million a year, yet we continue to invest – about 10 percent of our revenues. In 2023, we acquired KUKA’s integrated automation business, relaunching the German brand Reis Robotics, and strengthening our robotics division.”
What are ACT’s main divisions?
“Our key areas are: packaging solutions; airport lighting systems and space equipment; scientific applications and research, especially for medicine and clean nuclear fusion; robotics, automation, and power electronics. We work with CERN in Geneva and other leading research institutes.”
How large is the ACT community?
“We employ 800 people worldwide, including 150 in Crespellano – 65% engineers, 29% under 35, and 21% women – across 13 business units and 11 sites in Italy, Germany, France, the U.S., China, Mexico, and Switzerland. With such talented people, continuously trained and empowered, anything is possible.”
How did your entrepreneurial journey begin?
“I’m an industrial technician by training. As an Air Force officer at a NATO center in Sardinia during the Cold War, I worked on Italy’s first satellite launch – the San Marco in 1964. Curiosity, drive, and a desire to explore the world have always guided me.
In 1970, Poerio Carpigiani asked me to manage Cattabriga, a struggling competitor just acquired by Carpigiani. In 1990, I became CEO of Carpigiani, and in 1995, I founded Cocchi Technology Packaging.”
What do you dream of today?
“I hope Providence grants me the energy to lead the company into its second generation. We are living through a time of great transformation, and with artificial intelligence, humanity can truly evolve. My dream is to generate a positive impact – on our company and on the lives of young people in our community.”
Il Corriere della Sera, October 13, 2025 – Alessandra Testa
