On 29 November 1945 ICMESA (Industrie Chimiche Meridionali S.A. with offices and administration in Milan) presented to the Milan Civil Engineering Corps its application for the permit to build a new factory for the production of pharmaceuticals on its property in the Municipality of Meda. ICMESA was not a newly constituted company. In fact, its history traces back to 1924 when the chemical companies, K. Benger and C.S.A. (then called Industrie Chimiche Meridionali K. Benger e C.) changed its corporate name to Industrie Chimiche Meridionali S.A. ICMESA.
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The registered office and factory were located in Naples with activities based on the manufacture and sales of synthetic aromatic products, by-products (for the pharmaceutical industry and organic colourants industries) and base products for the chemical industry.
In 1947 the shareholders’ meeting deliberated to change the company’s name into ICMESA S.A., Industrie Chimiche Meda, Società Azionaria. In the same year, upon the termination of the construction works, the ICMESA started its own industrial activities in Brianza.
The 1950s and 1960s saw the constant expansion of the Meda factory, confirming the position of the Givaudan & C. di Vernier-Ginevra as the main stakeholders of the company. The latter, however, was acquired in 1963 by the multinational Hoffman-La Roche with main office in Basel, and became the owner of ICMESA.
