The decade that followed, 1971-1981, was marked by a period of depression and unemployment in the production system of Lecco, that had by then reached a stage of maturity, but at the same time, the groundwork was being laid for major new developments. The depression was especially hard on the larger mechanical industries and some were forced to close, but it provided a base for the development of a large number of smaller companies, much more dynamic and above all much more competitive in the sphere of operating flexibility and innovation. The District can be said to have restructured itself in terms of a selective reduction and overall requalification of the offering, so as to be able to interface successfully on the new markets opening up in the world.

During the eighties, the small and medium manufacturing plants were the only sector of the metallurgical and mechanical industry that was not only capable of absorbing the employees who had lost their jobs as a result of the closure of the larger plants, but was also able to create additional jobs. High levels of productivity and good operating margins were the proof that Lecco's companies could respond effectively even to the challenges of the international market. Production and added value increased at rather high rates (over 10% per year) and investments grew more consistent so as to determine, by the end of the decade, a major increase in productivity and significant growth of profit margins.

At the end of the eighties, the large investments and reorganisation of production processes also implied the start of an important process of requalification of the workers, with attention to new professional roles and constant demand for technical and managerial training.

The excellent flexibility attained during the eighties, seen as a capacity of adapting to constant changes in the levels and types of production, combined with the high quality of the products, has given Lecco's mechanical industries a certain competitive advantage, by excluding them, to some extent, from the limitations of a type of competition based solely on the price.