Necchi's industrial activity began with Ambrogio Necchi, who started and continued the foundry trade inherited by his father and grandfather. At the end of 1880 Ambrogio Necchi took over the family factory in the center of Pavia, in which 170 workers were employed to built cast iron parts for machineries.

In 1919, Vittorio Necchi, son of Ambrogio Necchi, returned from the front of the WWI as fatherless orphan. He was now left behind the management of family activity. Initially he had no inclination to mechanics but was interested only in classical studies, photography and animal breeding.

From his wife's insistence on buying a sewing machine, he came up with the idea of making a home-made machine using partly the cast iron that produced the family foundries.

Vittorio Necchi, a resting and humble person, so much that he had lunch took from home to be always present in the company. His greatest passion , which was proud of it, was the pheasant breeding and the cultivation of orchids in its holding of Portalupa, as well as boasting of a skilled hunter.

It had a precious collection of paintings that was left to the Municipality of Pavia.

Necchi have always made their machines to the highest standards and pioneered many improvements to modern machines. Being an Italian machine naturally they make their sewing machines pretty to look at as well as useful.