Villa was also famous for the pipe industry. From 1913, a French factory was set up in the Villa for the production of pipes, the Vassas, located in the premises of the former Erba spinning mill, along the current Via Marina. Around 1926 it was sold to the Tuscan Egidio Dei, former director of the same; then was equipped with about 25 circular saws. Heather root pies were produced here. The products of the factory went into final processing in northern Italy (especially Milan), France, England, Germany and the United States. At its peak the Dei factory gave employment to about fifty workers, mostly lumberjacks and truck drivers who transported the wood, which came mainly from Aspromonte, but also from Sicily, Sardinia and Greece. The factory was active until the early eighties, when it was forced to close due to decreased demand and increased production requirements.