The Unexpected Plain: In Cittanova, Hi-Tech ATMs for Multinational Electronic Teller (ATM) Companies

In Cittanova, a populous small town overlooking the Gioia Tauro Plain from its highest point, you arrive by taking the Autostrada del Mediterraneo as far as Rosarno, passing trucks laden with oranges. It’s an abundance that no longer suffices or pays off, that no longer creates wealth for this land and its people, be they residents or refugees. Alternatively, you can reach the town from the Ionian coast, following a stretch of State Road 106, cutting through the Aspromonte mountains, crossing the Limina Pass toward the Tyrrhenian Sea until you reach the Polistena exit: in the distance, cranes at the port, and beyond them Vulcano and the Aeolian Islands.

To reach the industrial area (the town center lies to the right of the Serra stream), you pass by groves of orange and centuries-old olive trees. On the ground lies a carpet of rotting oranges. There’s also a graveyard of businesses—ones that didn’t survive under the weight of the crisis, crime, a state that’s at best inattentive, or due to the incompetence of so-called “clever” entrepreneurs chasing subsidies and quick exits.

The Companies That Persevere

Yet there are also businesses that, like olive trees with their tough, gnarled roots, hold fast, grow, and bear fruit. Consider the company led by mechanical engineer Domenico Morano, head of “McmCostruzioni,” exactly the kind of enterprise you wouldn’t expect to find in Calabria’s Reggio province. It produces security systems for ATMs and night deposit boxes used by banks and post offices throughout Italy. Their clients? NCR, Diebold, Wincor—the three multinational world leaders in the ATM market, suppliers to the largest banking groups.

The Anti-Racket Network

Among the company’s partners is architect Maria Teresa, Domenico’s sister, responsible for Calabria’s segment of the Anti-Racket Network (an agreement between the Federation of Italian Anti-Racket Associations and the Ministry of the Interior), and a board member of Trame, the foundation that has been organizing the Trame Festival in Lamezia Terme for years—an event dedicated to books that stand against the mafias and the wall of silence. Maria Teresa Morano continues the struggle her father Girolamo started in the 1990s when he was a victim of attempted extortion. Together with 12 entrepreneurs from Cittanova, he founded ACIPAC, the first Calabrian association of merchants, entrepreneurs, professionals, and artisans in Cittanova (now over 80 strong), fighting intimidation and retaliation, opposing the pressure of criminal clans, and standing as a civil party in trials.

MCM, Among the First in Italy

The banking security sector is one of the few that, in recent years, hasn’t feared crisis. Technological innovation has expanded services for customers but also increased the risk of physical (passive) and logical (active) attacks on banks’ informational and payment systems.

This is how MCM, once an artisanal firm producing low-value-added agricultural machinery, evolved into an industrial company that now offers devices with a significant innovative component. This transformation was made possible partly through contributions from Law 488/92. Under Domenico—who embodies expertise, enthusiasm, and visionary pragmatism—and with another facility in Garlasco, the company has positioned itself among the top in Italy, with a turnover of about 2.3 million euros, 20% of which is generated by exports to France, Germany, and Hungary. There are twenty employees, including some very young graduates from the “Conte Milano” ITIS in Polistena, a cutting-edge technical institute renowned throughout the province, featuring a mechanical workshop, a home automation house, a planetarium, and four specialized tracks. This is yet another factor that explains the advantage enjoyed by this Southern Italian center of excellence.

From Girolamo to Domenico, 50 Years of History

In the 1960s, Girolamo Morano worked as a blacksmith. Back then, hundreds of oil mills operated in the Plain, and he built agricultural sorting machines to clean olives. The turning point came in 2003 with Domenico, and the decision was somewhat accidental. He deserves credit for capitalizing on that chance. “At the time, I ran a consulting firm, lived in Genoa, and never imagined returning to Calabria to follow in my father’s footsteps,” he recalls. “When I was a child, we lived in Turin. Then one day my father decided to move the family back to Cittanova. I didn’t understand his decision then, and as soon as I could, I left. University was my excuse. I worked as an assistant at the University of Genoa’s Faculty of Engineering and founded a business consulting company. Until one day, a client mentioned a problem: he urgently needed large metal plates to secure some ATMs. That’s when I had a realization. The piece itself wasn’t complicated, but for a large company it was a complex request. I thought about my father’s workshop and how to solve the problem without overthinking it. Within a week, the order was ready for delivery. That’s how I started again, reshaping my work, my life. I finally understood my father’s earlier decision. His perspective became mine as well.”

Bank Security Devices

The technical office is the engine of every new project, from the most complex, patented products to straightforward improvements. It’s a short step from there to the workshop. “Our advantage over other competitors,” the engineer explains, “comes from our know-how and the flexibility of our processes. We can design, prototype, and put into production at a steady pace, optimally utilizing our manufacturing capacity.” Morano meticulously describes the projects that have made them known and helped them grow in the Italian market.

These include the Anti Cash Trapping device or the “intelligent” Sop Box, a mechanism applied to ATMs that prevents the entrapment of banknotes, and the anti-skimmer device, protecting against card reading and cloning. Industrial research starts by analyzing the problems and the types of attacks these systems might face. The latest image on his computer shows the aftermath of a severe explosion at an ATM. “The main danger in these cases isn’t just the stolen cash,” he explains, “but the structural stability of the buildings affected by the attack.”

New Projects for Commercial Businesses

Next to him is Giorgio, a very young mechanical engineer whom Domenico convinced to return to Calabria. Also in the office is Giuseppe, a recent graduate from the nearby technical institute, whom he is training. A pencil and notebook lie on the table for quick sketches and simple calculations, while the computer runs sophisticated 3D design software.

They are currently developing a particular model of a cash register for handling cash payments in shops: an electronic device and a custom mechanical solution will prevent the employee—mainly for hygiene reasons—from directly touching the money. “This is the trend of the near future. This way, the mechanism becomes more intelligent and secure,” the engineer adds.

The Facilities (One is in the North)

In the facility, you can see various prototypes of the security systems they’ve developed and distributed throughout Italy. They are displayed to demonstrate their efficiency, but also to inspire even better solutions in increasingly shorter times. The banking security sector requires constant updates. The risk of software and tool obsolescence translates into a higher likelihood of being targeted.

Right now, the company is working at full capacity: there’s an important delivery for a major national banking institution. Every week, since 2010, a truck heads from here to the Garlasco plant in Lombardy for assembly, storage, and distribution of products, and, if necessary, their installation. The oldest welder, Francesco, can be recognized even with his protective mask on: he has 40 years of experience, moves confidently, oversees the workshop, monitors the automated operations of the machinery and the manual work of other employees, especially the younger ones like Marco and Dylan.

“Since I took over the company, many things have changed,” the entrepreneur continues. “I had to strengthen the design aspect, push on R&D, reconfigure the layout of the plants, and improve the entire production process. Here, in the hinterland, there wasn’t a single company I could rely on for supplies or delegate parts of the production for the ATMs we make.” This contextual disadvantage offered him the chance to stand out and become self-sufficient, forcing him to internalize all stages of production (except for the electronic components). Today, with numerically controlled machines, a laser cutting system, a robotic welding cell, and a powder coating plant, he can say he has almost everything under control.

Why in Calabria?

“The area still lacks fiber optics, infrastructure, and generally adequate services. But life here can’t be compared. I lived many years in the North and was fine there. Still, in Calabria, I allow myself to live better: I have my work, and despite the difficulties, I manage it according to my expectations and the values I’ve inherited. I balance it easily with my family’s needs because I live 10 minutes away from the plant, and I’m surrounded by a wonderful landscape that I try to fully enjoy.” His passion? Bicycle rides with his three children along the dirt trails in the Aspromonte hills.

By Annamaria Crupi