MILAN — More than an idyllic lakeside hamlet beloved by the international jet set, the northern Italian town of Como and the surrounding area are home to the country’s biggest silk-making districts, part of Italy’s fashion supply chain backbone.

Not unlike enterprises in other textile hubs, local businesses have been feeling the havoc wrought by geopolitical instability and macroeconomic headwinds for several years now. On top of that, Como has felt the pinch of a downturn in demand for printed fabrics, its bread and butter, leaving only the most resilient companies in good enough shape to press ahead.

A white knight is coming to the rescue. The Brixen, Italy-based Durst Group, a digital print specialist, is investing 20 million euros in the textile hub that aim to energize it.

Building on its acquisition of Aleph, completed in 2025, the family-owned Durst Group is earmarking investments toward new facilities and infrastructures geared at the development of a highly specialized district for textile inkjet printing, software development and applied research.

The company, which in 2025 generated revenues of 430 million euros, will concurrently plant its first manufacturing flag outside the South Tyrol region where it is based. Durst Group was established in 1936 by brothers Julius and Gilbert Durst and currently boasts production facilities in Kufstein and Lienz, Austria, as well as Brixen.

“Como has been printing textiles for the world for generations. We’re not just passing through, we’re here to stay,” said Christoph Gamper, chief executive officer and co-owner of Durst Group. “It is one of the most internationally recognized textile districts, with unique expertise across the entire supply chain: printers, converters, brands, designers, manufacturers and specialized suppliers. For Durst, this proximity to the market is essential. It allows us to develop and validate applications together with customers in a real and highly demanding production environment,” he said.

“The current moment is complex, but that is precisely why we believe it is important to invest. The digital transformation of textiles requires technology, expertise, sustainability and industrial capability.…Durst Como is an industrial project with a long-term vision: European technology, developed here, for the world,” Gamper said.

The Durst Como headquarters will be housed inside an existing building, to be totally revamped for enhanced energy efficiency and use of renewable sources, including pump heating and a photovoltaic system of about 600 kWp. The facility will also host a colony of bees in support of biodiversity.

The site will be largely dedicated to inkjet printing technologies for fashion and home textiles, flanking the existing textile division at the Kufstein complex.

The move is part of Durst Group’s decade-long investments in expanding its footprint in the textile business. Originally geared toward the graphic, packaging and labeling sectors, the group has grown its expertise in fashion and home decor by allocating about 50 million euros of investments to the categories.

“This project marks a major milestone in our growth journey,” said Alessandro Manes, director of global sales, industrial textile, at Durst Group. “Our goal is to build in Como a highly specialized technology and manufacturing hub, one that can attract talent, develop new expertise and create new opportunities for the region,” he said.

The company declined to disclose exact revenue targets for Durst Como beyond saying it aims to double the group’s turnover in five years.