SICO

What SICO does

SICO Società Italiana Carburo Ossigeno SPA a Socio Unico is an Italian industrial gas producer founded in the early 1950s, headquartered in Saronno (Varese), and family-owned across multiple generations. The company operates in two distinct sectors: (1) production, applied research, and commercialization of technical, food, medical, and pure gases, including industrial gas mixtures, food-grade gases with E-number designations, medical gases, refrigerant gases, calibration gas mixtures, and laboratory pure gases; and (2) home medical assistance through the SICO VITA division, which serves approximately 3,000 patients daily in Italy with home oxygen therapy, non-invasive mechanical ventilation, sleep disorder diagnostics, and remote patient monitoring.

The company's technology base spans industrial and medical gas production, cryogenic separation, and on-site gas generation including hydrogen/oxygen electrolysis, simple rectification nitrogen, and high-purity nitrogen distillation. SICO has developed proprietary capabilities including the SICODEP™ oxygen-based wastewater treatment system (achieving up to 50% capacity increase and 97% emission reduction), cryogenic condensation technology for VOC removal at approximately -100°C, and a forthcoming Industry 4.0 automated nitric oxide (NO) production plant at Saronno, financed under EU PR FESR 2021-2027. The company is ISO 9000 certified and holds AIC Marketing Authorizations for medicinal gases.

SICO's business model is B2B industrial sales with custom pricing, distributed through a network of eight regional branches across Italy, three wholly-owned subsidiaries (FullGas SRL, Iron Gas SRL, Oxyplus SRL), and exclusive distributors and agents. The company serves seven distinct verticals: food, metallurgical/glass, welding/cutting, electronics, chemical/pharmaceutical, environmental treatment, and healthcare. Logistics operations include direct delivery of liquid gas via cisterns and compressed gas via cylinders, supported by cryogenic storage monitoring and remote telematics management of installed customer plants. SICO ranks among the top five industrial gas producers in Italy and positions itself in Europe as 'the smallest among the big manufacturing companies.'

Name

SICO

Legal name

SICO SOCIETÀ ITALIANA CARBURO OSSIGENO SPA a Socio Unico

Website

https://sicospa.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SICO is a family-owned Italian industrial gas producer (founded early 1950s, headquartered Saronno) manufacturing technical, food, medical, and pure gases, and operating the SICO VITA home care division serving approximately 3,000 patients daily across Italy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Saronno

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Technical, Food, Medical and Pure Gas Production and Sales: Production, applied research and commercialization of technical gases, food gases, medicinal gases and pure gases. Products include industrial gases, food-grade gases, medical gases, gas mixtures for various applications, and refrigerant gases.
2. Home Medical Assistance (Home Care): SICO VITA division provides home care services including long-term home oxygen therapy, non-invasive mechanical ventilation, sleep disorder diagnostics and treatment, and telemetry systems for remote patient monitoring.
3. Gas Logistics and Distribution: Transportation and delivery of gases in liquid state via tank and compressed state via cylinders, including intermodal transport capabilities for naval and rail transport.
4. Industrial Plant Installation and Maintenance: Customized plant solutions including on-site production plants, installation, remote management, and comprehensive maintenance services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

SICO Società Italiana Carburo Ossigeno SPA a Socio Unico produces, researches, and markets technical, food, medical, and pure industrial gases, and delivers them via cryogenic tanks, cylinders, and on-site production plants across Italy and select European markets. The company also provides home medical assistance (oxygen therapy, ventilotherapy, sleep diagnostics, telemetry) through its SICO VITA division, serving approximately 3,000 patients daily.

Product overview

SICO is an Italian industrial gas company operating in two distinct sectors: (1) production, applied research and marketing of technical, food, medical, and pure gases; and (2) Home Medical Assistance through the SICO VITA division. The product portfolio includes multiple gas product lines: LINEA GAS ALIMENTARI (food gases including Carbofood, Nitrofood, Oxyfood, Argofood, Helifood), LINEA GAS INDUSTRIALI (industrial gases, mixtures for welding, laser, and fire extinguishing), LINEA GAS REFRIGERANTI (refrigerant gases), LINEA GAS PER CALIBRAZIONE (calibration gas mixtures), LINEA GAS PURI (pure laboratory gases), and LINEA GAS MEDICINALI (medical gases). Supporting services include Logistics (cryogenic tanks, cylinders, compressed gas transport), Plants/Impianti (on-site installations, cryogenic systems), and SICODEP™ water treatment technology. SICO VITA healthcare division provides hospital services and Home Care serving approximately 3,000 patients daily.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SICO VITA: Healthcare division of SICO dedicated to hospital services and home care for the supply of products and services in hospital facilities or at the patient's home. The division handles medical gases, plant systems, cryobiology, and follows approximately 3,000 patients daily in Italy through home care activities.

Products and services

• SICO VITA Healthcare division providing hospital services and Home Care for supply of medical gases, products and services in hospital facilities or at patients' homes; manages approximately 3,000 patients daily in Italy through oxygen therapy, ventilotherapy, sleep diagnostics, and remote telemetry.
• SICODEP™ Environmental Treatment System Water and wastewater treatment technology using pure oxygen for biological purification; increases treatment capacity by over 50%, reduces electrical consumption, eliminates surface foams, and reduces gaseous emissions by 97%.
• LINEA GAS ALIMENTARI (Food-Grade Gas Mixtures) Food-grade gas mixtures for modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), cryogenic freezing, and food preservation applications.
• LINEA GAS INDUSTRIALI (Industrial Gases) Industrial gas products including pure gases, industrial mixtures, extinguishing mixtures, welding mixtures, and laser gases.
• LINEA GAS REFRIGERANTI (Refrigerant Gases) Refrigerant gases for various industrial cooling applications.
• LINEA MISCELE GAS PER CALIBRAZIONE STRUMENTI (Instrument Calibration Gas Mixtures) Gas mixtures for instrument calibration.
• LINEA GAS PURI AD UTILIZZO LABORATORIO E RICERCA (Laboratory and Research Pure Gases) Pure gases for laboratory and research use.
• LINEA GAS MEDICINALI (Medicinal Gases) Medical gases and medicinal gas mixtures including spirometry mixtures and other medical applications, produced under AIC (Marketing Authorization).
• Gas Logistics Services Transportation and delivery of gases in liquid state via tank and compressed state via cylinders, including intermodal transport capabilities for naval and rail. Includes cryogenic tanks, tankers, cylinders, cylinder packs, scarabs, and hydrogen cylinder trucks.
• Impianti (Plant Installation and Technical Services) Installation of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen systems for food packaging in protected atmosphere; technical assistance for cryogenic solvent recovery; applications for molten metal degassing and combustion air enrichment.
• Food Gases (Carbofood E 290, Nitrofood E 941, Oxyfood E 948, Argofood E 938, Helifood E 939, Azoto protossido E 942) Food-grade gases including Carbon dioxide (Carbofood E 290), Nitrogen (Nitrofood E 941), Oxygen (Oxyfood E 948), Argon (Argofood E 938), Helium (Helifood E 939), and Nitrous Oxide (Azoto protossido E 942) with corresponding food additive E-numbers.
• On-Site Production Plants Customized on-site production plants including hydrogen and oxygen production by electrolysis, simple rectification nitrogen production, and high-purity nitrogen production with distillation; remotely managed by SICO personnel via telematics.
• Nitric Oxide (NO) Production Plant - Saronno New Industry 4.0 plant producing nitric oxide (NO) and related gas mixtures; one of very few such facilities among Italian and European technical gas producers, targeting healthcare/hospital and environmental pollution control markets.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 50% increased wastewater treatment capacity with pure oxygen systems
• +8 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GB Pharma SrlsupportingOthersGB Pharma Srl manages pharmacovigilance services for SICO's medicinal gas products with AIC (Marketing Authorization). Contact details provided for adverse reaction reporting: landline +39 0382.530676 / +39 0382.530059, email [email protected].

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Messer Group: Family-owned European industrial and medical gas specialist with similar DNA to SICO: privately held, founder-family controlled, mid-sized European footprint competing against the multinational majors.
• SOL S.p.A. Italian industrial, medical and home-care gas group with a similar integrated model spanning technical gases, medical gases, and home oxygen therapy (Vivisol). Closest like-for-like peer given overlapping Italian footprint, vertical mix, and home-care presence.
• SIAD: Italian-headquartered industrial and medical gas producer with comparable product portfolio (technical, food and medical gases) and pan-European distribution. Comparable scale and customer base to SICO.

Broad incumbents

• Linde: World's largest industrial gas company with broad European footprint. Competes across all of SICO's verticals (bulk, specialty, medical, on-site) and represents the scale benchmark cited in SICO's 'smallest among the big' positioning.
• Air Liquide: Global industrial and medical gas major with significant Italian and European market share. Competes head-to-head with SICO across bulk and specialty gases, including medical and home-care (Medigas).
• Air Products and Chemicals: Global industrial gas major with hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen offerings and growing European presence. Competes with SICO in on-site plants, hydrogen/oxygen electrolysis, and specialty applications.

Regional players

• Nippon Gases Europe: European industrial and medical gas operator (formerly Praxair Europe) serving multiple EU markets with technical and medical gases. Comparable product mix and target customers in the European region.

Emerging players

• Iwatani Corporation: Japanese-headquartered industrial gas company with European expansion interests, focused on hydrogen and specialty gases. Comparable in its specialty-gas focus and engineered on-site plant offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sico-societ-italiana-carburo-ossigeno-spa

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SICO