History

History

IP Gruppo api was founded in 1933 by Ferdinando Peretti, who held the Italian equivalent of a knighthood for his contribution to industry. Ever since, it has taken on the challenges posed by the energy sector whilst remaining close to the requirements of both consumers and businesses, by supplying energy that enables them to get around and to build value.

The group’s history has been marked by steady success and growth.

In the years
1933

“Knight of Industry” Ferdinando Peretti acquires api Anonima Petroli italiana, a company involved in the sales and distribution of fuel products in the Marche region of Italy. He develops a warehouse at Falconara Marittima in the Ancona province on the Adriatic Coast.

The storage facility is expanded in 1950 and transformed into a refinery plant, heralding the introduction of api Raffineria [Refinery].

The business continues to expand throughout the 1950s, a period in which it begins to develop a distribution network for fuels and combustibles.
The first global fuel crisis, which took place in 1956 and 1957, saw prices rise and crude stocks fall, but api navigates those years with success and at the end of it sees its capital stock valued at 2 billion lire and its crude oil processing capacity equivalent to one million tonnes.

In the flourishing years of the same decade, the company builds an artificial island 3758 metres off the coast at Falconara, creating a series of underwater pipes that enabled tankers to dock offshore.

These are the years of the so-called boom in Italy and during them, api’s sales rise by over 30%. By the mid-Sixties, the company is producing 1,928 million tonnes annually and has 900 service stations, including the first motorway site.

1977

Aldo Brachetti Peretti (named as a “Knight of Industry” in 1978) becomes the new president and Managing Director, upon the death of Nando Peretti.

The distribution network comprises around 1700 outlets, 90% of which are owned by the company. As the network continues to grow with the opening of the first self-service sites, the refinery is equipped with a 16 km-long marine pipeline that can accommodate large tankers up to 400,000 tonnes in volume.

Over the ensuing years, the company continues to introduce improvements in the areas of safety, product quality, the environment and energy savings. The refinery launches a restructuring plan along with an initiative to optimise the production cycle.

In 1989, api Holding S.p.A. is created. Its sphere of interest is primarily in energy diversification, including the development of electric energy from renewable sources (wind, biomass and photovoltaic).

President Aldo Brachetti Peretti remains at the head of the company until the beginning of the new millennium, which opens with the launch of the central IGCC at Falconara for the production on electric energy.

Activities remained focused on the production of petrol and diesel, as well as the low sulphur bunker for sea transport.

2000

The twenty-first century begins with a period of renewed growth for the group. In 2005, the acquisition of the IP brand and network from ENI is finalised.

The group diversifies activities with significant investments in the field of renewable energy, through the company api Nòva Energia [New Energy].

In 2007, Ugo Brachetti Peretti becomes Executive President of api Anomina Petroli Italiana and the group’s focus shifts to the mobility sector with the strengthening of its distribution network. He also revamps the role of the Falconara Marittima refinery and transforms what is a family company into the leading private all-Italian player in the fuel and mobility sector through the acquisition of TotalErg, joint venture between the Genoese company Erg and the French brand Total. With this acquisition, which takes place in 2018, IP becomes the largest private Italian retailer in the sector.

2022

In 2020-2021, in the complex context of the pandemic, IP launches a commercial revolution in its outlets when it substitutes traditional fuels with OPTIMO, a premium fuel that reduces consumption and environmental impact. Sold at the same price as normal fuel, it offers any customer access to a superior quality product and a more sustainable mobility model.

In December 2022, IP signs an agreement for the acquisition of Esso Italiana’s petroleum assets. The acquisition, which meets with the approval of the Competition and Market Guarantee Authority, significantly increases the group’s production output. Refinery capacity doubles from almost 5 to 10 million tonnes per year under the 100% control of the Trecate Refinery and its associated logistics system.

Who we are

The values and mission of IP Group API