Value generated at 2.7 billion euros, 30,000 employees, 1,300 suppliers,
12% of the entire hi-tech industry supply chain within the Region:
these are the main indicators of the ecosystem originated by Leonardo in Lombardy

Prometeia 2022 study on Leonardo’s contribution to the Italian and regional economy

Rome,  23 January 2023 10:41

The Prometeia 2022 Study reports on the impact of Leonardo, the national champion in the AD&S sector, within the productive ecosystem of Lombardy. The study highlights that the company is a hub, which contributes to the regional GDP with around 2,7 billion euros equal to 0.8% of the total GDP (+28% compared to 2018). The value brings Lombardy to the top of the GDP ranking in Italy, which is produced at a regional level by Leonardo. Every Euro of value added created by the company generates, on average, two additional euros within the territory.

"We are continually committed to improving the tools that enhance the productive ecosystem of the territories where we operate. Focusing, first and foremost, on the development of a sustainable long-term supply chain that can support employment growth, and the competences and technological innovation of the entire domestic system. Leonardo’s initiatives in support of the supply chain are competitive levers for the security and development benefits of the country", says Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Leonardo.

From the data contained in the Prometeia 2022 Study (relating to 2021), it has emerged that ten Leonardo employees in Lombardy support, on average, an additional 33 employees for a total of 30 thousand employees within the local ecosystem, a value that has grown by 30% when compared to 2018. More than 1,300 companies in the sector, including 80% of SMEs, move around 900 million euros in ordered volume, positioning Lombardy as the first region for spending on goods and services via the Leonardo system. The region is also where the value of investments in Research & Development (R&D) activities of the company is greater, reaching 382 million, equal to 9.6% of the total region.

The company contributes to the strengthening of the regional technological and high knowledge supply chain: IT and professional services are among the main sectors. The average labour productivity, characterised by a high mix of skills, fed by Leonardo is 17% higher than the regional average. The Leonardo supply chain represents 12% of the entire hi-tech industry in Lombardy. The innovative activities, which are further nourished by the work carried out by Leonardo Labs - the technological hubs dedicated to the R&D of frontier technologies - in Lombardy, are part of an ecosystem comprised of companies, institutions, and universities. In this context, the existing collaboration between the industrial world and the regional institutions is essential in ensuring concrete support for a strategic supply chains at a local and national level.

In the region, the Leonardo Group has six main locations, between Varese, Brescia and Nerviano that are active in the helicopter, aircraft, electronics and cybersecurity markets. With over 7,000 employees; thanks to the presence of Leonardo, the Lombard territory is among the few in the world to boast of a complete aircraft capacity, both in the fixed-wing and in the rotary-wing, in addition to advanced skills in space.

Broadening its gaze to Italy, the Prometeia Study indicates that the productive ecosystem led by Leonardo comprises over 4,000 companies, 87% of which are PMI, with more than 125,000 employees, and generates 0.6% of GDP, thanks to 10 billion euro in value added. A figure that represents 1.4% of the value produced by the entire national industry and 13% of the Italian high tech industry. The company develops within the Italian territory revenues of 9,5 billion euro, employing beyond 31,000 assigned, and exports 75% of the production that, in 2021, was worth 1.4% of all the exports of goods in Italy, reaching a labour productivity of 50% higher than the Italian average.

On a national basis, the multiplier of Leonardo’s value added is 2.9: this means that for each single euro generated by the Group, an additional 1.9 euro will be created for the entire Italian economy. Coming to the employment multiplier, this stands at 3.9: ten employees in the Group support, on average, an additional 28 employees in the economy, with 0.4% of the national employment supported by Leonardo and its industry. Compared to 2018, the Prometeia 2022 study points out that the total impact of the Leonardo Group’s activities on the Italian economy grew by 18%, in terms of value added produced, and by 16%, in terms of employment: the result is an expansion of the Group’s direct activities and purchases of its Italian supply chain.

Over time, Leonardo has finalised ad hoc programmes for the construction of a reliable, solid, innovative, competitive supply chain on the domestic market and open to international challenges, and sustainable. Among these, the LEAP programme (Leonardo Empowering Advanced Partnerships) is particularly important.

With the launch of the LEAP programme in 2018, Leonardo has supported the dimensional and qualitative growth of its supply chain. The company has equipped itself with a management model that enhances its supply chain to create stronger and more sustainable relationships within, making it a "system" and by driving an accelerator role for SME growth in the national ecosystem.

In 2021, these areas were combined with the objectives of operational performance and cost competitiveness, and sustainability, in the belief that a sustainable business generates value for the customer, society, and the environment. LEAP - Partnership for Sustainability, the second step of the programme, focused on innovation, digital transformation, cyber security and the green transition, ensured the medium-long-term competitiveness of Leonardo’s integrated industrial ecosystem.

LEAP follows a modular approach comprising various types of interventions, some applicable to the entire supplier base, others were more selective and demanding in terms of impact and resources employed. Specific improvement and development projects have already been implemented for more than 120 suppliers, including targeted managerial and technical specialist training programmes, long-term business partnership agreements, support for technology transfer and financial support arrangements. With regard to finance, in particular, Leonardo has strengthened the package of solutions and financial instruments available to suppliers and launched a series of agreements that allow to preserve access to credit for small- and medium-sized Italian suppliers.

Thanks to the development of the programme, with constant updates, the company has become, in fact, a promoter and protagonist of an industrial policy that is able to support competitiveness and sustainability of one of the main supply chains in the country.