Born within a poor family in Sant'Agnese, near Modena, Orsi lost his father in 1899 - an event that forced him to start working at a very young age.

In the late 1920s he started his own business as scrap iron, steel mill and farm equipment manufacturer, eventually employing hundreds of people from Modena and the surrounding area.

In 1940 Orsi moved the Maserati headquarters from Bologna to Modena, near the premises of his steel plants and spark plug manufacturing company, Fonderie Riunite.

In 1954 Orsi made a lucrative deal with Juan Perón when the motor racing enthusiast president of Argentina placed a large order for machine tools to be imported in his country.

Orsi encountered similar issues with the Spanish government, and the ensuing financial problems resulted in Maserati entering administration.