Since the installation of the first continuous casting machine in 1964, it has consistently invested in technological innovation to produce steel using electric arc furnaces, starting from ferrous scrap.
[6] In this regard, in 2022, the Riva Group acquired eight collection and crushing sites for ferrous materials, establishing the Trentetrois company.
From a technological and production standpoint, this enables the conduct of thermal, chemical, and mechanical analyses and tests on various metal types.
[15] On February 2, 2012, a report by Istituto Superiore di Sanità revealed extreme levels of air pollution and an abnormal incidence of cancer and cardiovascular diseases around the city of Taranto, where the ILVA giant steelworks are located.
[23] The Milan Court explicitly excluded any responsibility of the Riva family in the management of the Taranto plant, asserting that “between 1995 and 2012, in the management of ILVA Taranto by the Riva family, the company made investments ‘in environmental matters’ for ‘over one billion euros’ and ‘over three billion euros for the modernization and construction of new plants’”.
The Milan Court also refuted the “claimed general depletion of the structure”, emphasizing that under the Riva Group’s management, the company achieved performance and results positioning it “at the top of the European steel market”.
It further stated that only the court-appointed administration prevented the owning Riva Group from continuing the adjustments to the new environmental regulations published in March 2013 and the industrial relaunch of ILVA after the hiatus imposed in 2012 by the judges of Taranto.
[24] On 31 May 2021 the former owners of the Ilva steelworks, Fabio and Nicola Riva, were sentenced to 22 and 20 years in jail respectively for allowing it to spew out deadly pollution.
Riva Acciaio operates in Italy with five facilities located in Caronno Pertusella (VA), Lesegno (CN), Sellero, Malegno, and Cerveno in Valle Camonica (BS).