Comi Aerospace Srl press release

Terni, 3 April 2023   Comi Aerospace Srl was born, the first public-private capital company that will operate in the sector of the production of aircraft seats, defined as strategic by the MISE: an operation made possible by the entry of the industrial partner Comi SpA, by the Regional Finance Gepafin Spa and by the Fund Umbria Research and Innovation managed by Sici sgr Spa in the capital of the innovative start-up Aeroseatek, promoted by Gianluca Bellavigna’s Maestrale Group. The leadership will be up to a Board of Directors chaired by the entrepreneur Franco Ballabio and the Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Nozza. Comi Aerospace will be able to take advantage of top-level professionalism: Giuseppe Biamonte will be the General Manager and Fredrik Meloni will lead the Commercial Management. The initiative developed within MICH – Maestrale Innovation Creative Hub – the certified business incubator based in Terni directed by Carlo Ottone which is part of the Invitalia network. “We entered the capital of this start-up strongly rooted in the Terni area – explains the President of Gepafin Spa Carmelo Campagna – after a thorough joint investigation of our technical structures together with those of our investee Sici Sgr Spa”. Advisor, also for the legal part, was the Casucci Di Tarde e Associati studio (CDT Legal & Advisory) through the team made up of the lawyers Paolo Casucci, Mark Paolini and Alessandro Vella, while the project development and negotiation activities were followed and coordinated by Dr. Andrea Di Bari of Legalis Business Consulting. Statement by Vittorio Gabbanini, Chairman of Sici Sgr S.p.A. “The operation in Aeroseatek is the first operation of 2023 which represents the last year of investment of the Umbria Research & Innovation Fund launched in the first half of 2020. The Fund has already invested more than 75% of its endowment through nine operations. We are very pleased to have completed this operation and to participate, together with Gepafin, in this initiative which involves not only a plurality of managers and professionals of the highest profile in the reference sector, but also a reference industrial partner such as Comi Spa active in the sector of thermofarmutra. Thanks to our contribution we are confident of making an important contribution to the Aeroseatek project and to the workers of this sector present in the Umbria Region in order to be able to compete with world-class players.” S.I.C.I – Business Development Central Italy Sgr S.p.A. S.I.CI. is the independent savings management company (SGR) of the financial and banking system of Central Italy which currently manages 4 closed-end investment funds for a total value of approximately 147 million euros. To date, SICI has completed 108 investments in many sectors of the economy (from fashion to food, from life sciences to renewable energy, from advanced mechanics to innovative services) and has 25 active investments in its portfolio. The “Umbria Research and Innovation” Fund was subscribed by the ATI Gepafin-Artigiancassa, Resource Manager POR-FESR Umbria 2014-2020 invests in start-ups and innovative SMEs established or with settlement programs in Umbria. It acts through capital investments and/or hybrid financing and capitalization instruments in co-investment with private operators; since its establishment it has completed the intervention in 8 company companies. www.fondisici.it Andrea Di Bari of Legalis Business Consulting declares: The operation sees a 7-year business plan, which aims at an industrial operation of sure interest not only for the Umbria region. The first two years will mainly employ engineering personnel dedicated to design and certification, but once the full production regime is reached, it is expected to employ over 200 people in the area, for a turnover of around 50 million. We also believe that we can keep the times of this first phase as short as possible, also thanks to the partnerships made with important engineering consultancy companies and universities. Our industrial partner, COMI SpA, boasts 50 years of experience in the industrial machinery and automation sector and we are convinced that it can be the element that can make the difference in this sector, that of aircraft seats, as advanced in terms of engineering as almost artisanal in the production phases, bringing cutting-edge techniques in the field of automation. We have good financial capabilities, excellent technical resources and additional investors ready to support us, the support of a territory (the Terni area) which has proven itself, also through the Mich incubator, extremely open to new opportunities and with excellent resources. All this gives us stimuli and optimism to face a challenge that will require extreme commitment and seriousness. In short, Comi Aerospace can take off relying on a parterr.