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SNIA Viscosa - Varedo Lilion
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SNIA Viscosa was one of the worldwide man-made fibres leading companies during the last century. Focusing its business mainly on cellulose and artificial fibres (viscose, acetate, casein-fibre, etc.), after 1950 the company was the first one in Italy (and one of the first in Europe) to begin synthetic fibres production, such as nylon, polyester, acrylic.
The picture shows the Lilion (nylon 6) spinning facility from the rooftop of the entire Lilion plant. Actually, the beautiful chimney standing on the left doesn't belong to the Lilion plant but to the nearby viscose continuous spinning. Caprolactam, the "raw material" for nylon 6, was polymerized on site, dried and cut in very little pieces (cops). Cops where stored in those tanks on the top and then moved down into the plant to be molt down, spun and spooled. The Lilion "stretch-hall" of Varedo factory was the largest of Italy, placed just under the roof in the foreground.
An original architectural project of the Lilion spinning plant, dating back to 1958. Comparing this to the picture up there you can clearly see how the plant was enlarged in the following years.
Early 60s. Please note the huge LILION sign on the top: advertising placed directly on the production site! (lightened by night).
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