Our story
Bottling engineering since 1996
From design to testing, under one roof
Eurostar was founded in 1996 in the Canelli district, one of the hubs that made Italian bottling machinery an international benchmark, and is now based in San Marzano Oliveto. That is where our original specialisation in still wine in glass bottles comes from. Over the years it has extended to sparkling wine, beer, water, soft drinks, oil and spirits, and from glass to PET, HDPE and aluminium cans, and on to the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors.
The first Eurostar machine was a MEC LD 12.1R for still wine, 2,000 bottles/hour, installed in 1996 at Cantine Brema in Incisa Scapaccino (AT). It is still in operation today. Spare parts and support are still available for that machine: this is how we understand the lifespan of a plant.
We design and build our machines in-house: engineering department, machine shop and testing department are under one roof. When a project involves a complete line, we remain the customer's single point of contact from specification to functional testing before shipment. Today we count more than 2,000 installations worldwide.
Our story, in brief
From 1989 to 1996 Alessandro Castagno worked as an agent for some of the leading Italian bottling machinery manufacturers in Piedmont, Liguria and the Aosta Valley, following in his father's footsteps. Seven years spent in wineries, alongside technicians and in front of machines in production, left him with a clear conviction: he no longer wanted to simply sell machines designed by others. In the spring of 1996 he designed his first filling and capping monobloc. This was the beginning of Eurostar, built around a simple idea: staying close to the customer even after delivery.
Beside him from day one is Elisabetta Dridini, co-founder of the company. With Stefano and Giorgia joining, Eurostar is today a second-generation family business: continuity, stability and a long-term vision remain at the heart of every decision.
Among the projects that best show the expertise we have built up is the MEC ISO SL 50/105 isobaric monobloc for sparkling wine: 50 rinsing nozzles and 105 filling valves for 20,000 bottles/hour. The largest solution ever built in Piedmont's Bubble Valley.
Determination. Passion. Never give up. As Alessandro Castagno likes to say: "There is always a solution, you just have to find it."
Sustainability as a design standard
At Eurostar, sustainability is not about statements but about concrete choices.
A filler built to last is a concrete choice to reduce environmental impact. The first machine, built in 1996, is still in production. Spare parts and components for overhauls and modifications are available for every machine installed over the years, extending their service life and reducing the need to replace them. We also design our filling systems to reduce the consumption of water, gas and product during the production cycle, which is the heaviest environmental item in the life of a bottling plant.
The same choices apply to our plant. Since 2012 it has had an 80 kW photovoltaic system: in 2025 alone it produced more than 92,000 kWh, enough to cover most of the company's electricity consumption. Lighting is LED and consumption is monitored continuously.
Stainless steel and aluminium offcuts, our largest waste stream, are recovered and sent for recycling; paper, cardboard and plastic are sorted, and pallets are reused where possible. Digitalising administrative processes is progressively reducing paper use, and since 2025 microfiltered water dispensers connected to the mains have eliminated single-use bottles in the common areas.
People, training and the local area
The skills that made Canelli and the Belbo Valley an international benchmark for bottling are not born in the company: they start earlier, in local schools. Alessandro Castagno sits on the Board of ATPICA (Association for Packaging and Bottling Technologies of Canelli and the Belbo Valley), the association that brings together the district's companies, and we also work with APRO, ITIS Artom and ITS Pellati through visits, internships and in-company projects, to introduce young people to a technical trade that is still in high demand here, with few people to fill it. Internally, continuous training for our technicians is part of the job: every new technology we introduce in the workshop first goes through the people who will build and support it.
Protecting people is a concrete priority. In 2025 we installed a semi-automatic defibrillator on site, making the company a cardio-protected facility available to staff and the community, and we train our staff in first aid.
Finally, we believe that doing business means giving something back to the local area. In 2025 we chose to support I Bambini delle Fate, a social enterprise that since 2005 has funded inclusion projects for people with autism and disabilities, and we worked with I Talenti di Calamandrana, a project by the AGERS association that helps young people with autism into work in the restaurant sector. We also support cultural and sporting initiatives in the area, including the Assedio di Canelli, the Friciula Run and the Canelli Beer Festival.
The team
The faces behind the lines
Alessandro Castagno
CEO and Founder
IT / FR / EN
Founder of Eurostar in 1996, he sets the company's strategic vision and oversees its commercial development in Italy and abroad, keeping a direct relationship with customers and partners around the world.
Elisabetta Dridini
Chief Accounting Officer
IT / EN
Head of administration and finance, she oversees Eurostar's accounting, tax and organisational management.
Stefano Castagno
Operation Manager
IT / EN
Head of the Engineering Department and Production, he coordinates the development of design solutions from specification to machine build.
Giorgia Castagno
Marketing Manager
IT / EN
Head of marketing and communication, she manages digital channels, sales materials and brand positioning initiatives.
Erika Ivaldi
Executive Assistant to the CEO
IT / FR / EN
She supports the CEO in commercial and organisational activities, coordinating communication with international customers and partners.
Maria Cristina Masoero
Sales Area Manager
IT / FR / EN / ES
She supports the development of sales activities and the preparation of quotations, handling requests from Italian and international markets.
Giorgio Frova
Sales Area Manager
IT / ES / PT / EN
He manages commercial relations with international customers and partners, from defining their needs to building the plant, with a particular focus on his markets.
Antonio Landolfi
Sales Area Manager
EN / IT
He manages commercial relations with customers and partners and supports them with spare parts and technical support requests, providing assistance throughout the life cycle of the plant.
The wider team
