Piero Nulli’s siblings – Oreste, Paolo, Gino and Maria – became actively involved in the company and took on commercial and administrative roles. Finally in 1939 they were joined by their brother Emanuele who, as an industrial chemist, took over from his brother Piero in developing technological solutions for industrial production.

In 1941, following the departure of Mr Cappuccini, the company was renamed “F.lli Nulli, successori di ing. Cappuccini”. During the Second World War, the mechanical workshop for the manufacture of winemaking equipment was moved from Milan to Treviglio because of bombing raids, while the chemical plant remained at the Milan Bovisa site, without ever interrupting production of sulphur dioxide and its derivatives.

In 1951 the company was renamed “F.lli Nulli Spa”.
A fluidised-bed pyrite roaster was installed in 1958, representing the state of the art in technology at the time. That same year the company opened a sulphuric acid production plant using a catalytic process.

In 1963 an industrial site was acquired in San Martino di Trecate, province of Novara, used to build warehouses for storing finished products.
In 1968 the company seized an important opportunity for growth and development, signing a contract with Montecatini to supply liquid sulphur dioxide to all the group’s plants.
After signing the contract, in 1969 Montecatini ceased production at its plant in Linate, province of Milan, and F.lli Nulli built and opened its first production line for SO2 from pyrite on the San Martino di Trecate site. This agreement remains in place for decades, ensuring the supply of SO2 for production of sodium hydrosulphite at the Novara plant (formerly owned by Montecatini and later sold by Montedison to other industrial groups).

In 1970, Piero Nulli, the nephew of the founder, joined the company, and was initially involved in industrial operations by constructing facilities to produce a series of SO2 derivatives, sulphites, thiosulphates, bisulphites and metabisulphites (of sodium, ammonium and potassium).

1985 – Work began on vertical integration in the sulphur supply chain: sulphur was no longer merely the raw material at the Trecate plant, with the company moving into sulphur trading and providing logistical services to Italian sulphur-producing refineries (transport, storage, solidification and melting).
1988 – The company changed its name from Esseodue to Esseco and embarked on a strategy of corporate acquisitions, also targeting companies outside its base in Trecate.
That year also saw a number of significant events:

• acquisition of a majority stake in Ever Srl, a Treviso-based company selling winemaking products and services;

• acquisition of a warehouse in Borgolavezzaro, province of Novara, for the storage of finished products;

• construction of a warehouse in Macchiareddu, province of Cagliari, for the storage of sulphur, and the installation of a sulphur crushing plant, operating on behalf of Zolfindustria;

• formation of the Svecodue joint venture for the sale of products to the leather tanning industry.

1990 – Acquisition of Martin Vialatte Oenologie, a company based in Champigny, France, leading to the development of winemaking products for the French market.

1993 – Acquisition of Station Oenotechnique de Champagne (SOEC), based in Epernay, a market leader in products and consulting services for Champagne production.

1996 – The growth in sulphur-related operations led to the acquisition of Agrindustria, a company based in San Cipriano Po, province of Pavia, which was later renamed Zolfindustria. From then on the company experienced continuous growth in production volumes and sold sulphur to a growing number of countries around the world.

1997 – Francesco Nulli joined the company and was initially responsible for industrial operations at the San Martino di Trecate site; in 2008 he was appointed Managing Director of Esseco Srl. The company adopted an increasingly international outlook, in part through major acquisitions abroad.

1999 – Acquisition of Sepsa S.A. (now Enartis Sepsa), a Spanish company operating in the winemaking industry, based in Vilafranca del Penedès, and the acquisition of Oenofrance based in Bordeaux.

ITALY – Opening of the SA3 plant to produce sodium metabisulphite, applying an innovative production process with significant energy savings, the outcome of in-depth research and the use of cutting-edge technology.

USA – Formation of Esseco USA to distribute sulphites in North America.
BRAZIL – Formation of Ever Brasil to produce and distribute winemaking products in South America.
ITALY – Launch of Enartis, a new brand for Esseco’s winemaking products business.

Corporate restructuring, with a new industrial holding company Esseco Group, which includes all manufacturing and commercial companies in Italy and abroad.
ITALY – Formation of Essemar, an equal joint venture between the Esseco Group and Marchi Industriale for the production and marketing of sulphuric acid produced from elemental sulphur.
Installation of a new sulphur combustion furnace, enabling a significant increase in production capacity for SO2 gas at the Trecate site.
USA – Esseco Group acquired General Chemicals’ shareholding in EGC, which was renamed Esseco USA.

ITALY – Launch of the Enartis International project, involving the creation of branches in all the world’s major wine-producing countries.

ITALY – Launch of a new sulphuric acid production facility at the Essemar plant in Trecate, with production capacity of 140,000 tonnes/year.
UK – Formation of Esseco UK (Wakefield), an equal joint venture between the Esseco Group and Brotherton Speciality Products (Church & Dwight Group) to produce and market biosulphites in the UK and Ireland.
CHILE – Formation of Enartis Chile (Santiago).
ARGENTINA – Formation of Enartis Argentina (Mendoza).
SOUTH AFRICA – Acquisition of 60% of Enartis Winechem (Cape Town).
ITALY – Acquisition of Intec (Verona), a company specialising in the marketing of winemaking products.

PORTUGAL – Formation of Enartis Portugal (Porto).
CHINA – Opening of the Enartis China representative office in Beijing.

UK – Completion of the acquisition of Brotherton Speciality Products (Wakefield), a historic British manufacturer of a vast range of inorganic chemicals. The company was renamed Esseco UK.
AUSTRALIA – Formation of Enartis Pacific (Adelaide) to operate in Australia and New Zealand.
FRANCE – Acquisition of 100% of Sofralab, a company based in Epernay (Champagne), in which the Esseco Group already held a 50% stake. Construction in Oiry (Champagne) of a warehouse to store raw materials and finished products for the winemaking sector.
SOUTH AFRICA – Acquisition of 100% of Enartis Winechem, which was renamed Enartis South Africa.

USA – Acquisition of Vinquiry Inc., based in Windsor, California, a company specialising in wine analysis and the distribution and sale of winemaking products. Enartis brand launched in North America.
ITALY – Start of multi-year restructuring project involving all food industry production facilities at the Trecate industrial site.

UK – Installation of a sulphur furnace for production of bisulphites at the Wakefield industrial site.
FRANCE – Opening of production and packaging facilities for powdered products for the winemaking market at the Oiry site in Champagne.

ITALY – Formation of Enobiotech to distribute Oliver Ogar branded products for the winemaking sector, and the Italiana Biotecnologie brand for biotechnology research, both based in Montebello Vicentino, province of Vicenza.
GERMANY – Formation of Ever Deutschland in Wiesbaden for the distribution of winemaking products.
ITALY – Acquisition of Altair Chimica based in Saline di Volterra, province of Pisa, a historic chemical company at the cutting edge of the production of caustic potash and chlorine derivatives using membrane cell technology.

ITALY – Acquisition of Idrosol (later renamed Albite) for the production and sale of sodium hydrosulphite.
Installation of a steam and electricity cogeneration plant at the Altair plant in Saline di Volterra.
BRAZIL – Formation of Esseco do Brasil (merged with BSA in April 2013) for the marketing and distribution of chemicals in South America.
BRAZIL – Acquisition of BSA for the production and sale of SO2 derivatives.
ITALY – Launch of the Stabiwine project on the use of biopolymers in the sustainable stabilisation of fine wines.
FRANCE – Opening of production and packaging facilities for liquid products for the winemaking market at the Oiry site (Champagne).
SPAIN – Formation of Tratenol, based in Almendralejo, province of Badajoz, a 60/40 joint venture between Enartis Sepsa and Heral, to supply wine-related services and treatments to the Spanish and Portuguese markets.

MEXICO – Opening of a new commercial operation for the distribution of chemicals in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
ITALY – Installation of a chlorinated paraffin facility at the Altair plant in Saline di Volterra.
SLOVAKIA – Formation of Enartis Central Europe, based in Bratislava, for the distribution and sale of winemaking products.

ITALY – Expansion of chlor-alkali electrolysis capacity at the Altair Chimica plant in Saline di Volterra.

FRANCE – Formation of Esseco France for the distribution of chemicals in the French and Belgian markets.
UK – Installation of the ATS (ammonium thiosulfate) plant in Wakefield.

ITALY – Investment in a new sodium hydrosulphite production plant at the Esseco facility in Trecate.
Installation of a potash (KOH) flakes plant in Saline di Volterra.
Formation of Oenofrance Italia, a branch of Sofralab for the distribution of products in Italy under the two brands Oenofrance and Station Oenotechnique de Champagne.
BRAZIL – Significant increase in the capacity of the sulphite production line.
MEXICO – Formation of Esseco Chemicals de Mexico for the distribution of chemicals in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

November 2017
European Union approval for the use of potassium polyaspartate in winemaking.

SPAIN – Formation of Altair Iberica for the distribution of the parent company’s products on the Iberian peninsular.
PORTUGAL – Formation of Sofralab Portugal.
FRANCE – Inauguration of Campus Montagnac, close to Montpelier, including wine analysis laboratories, an experimental wine cellar, research centre, convention centre and logistics hub for the distribution of winemaking products in the south of France.

ITALY – Acquisition of Hydrochem in Pieve Vergonte, province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.
GERMANY – Acquisition of Addcon GmbH, a Bitterfeld-based chemicals company with production facilities in Bitterfeld (Germany) and Porsgrunn (Norway) and three companies in Asia for the distribution of chemicals: in Hong Kong, Dalian (China) and Bangkok (Thailand).