I suppose that it depends upon the financial state of the companies and how the government reacts to a potential collapse. If the companies are reliant upon financing for cash flow or capital growth, then I can see some significant problems. Also, depending upon how serious the situation gets, the raw material suppliers may demand payment up front instead of credit terms. The government could impose new taxes that would have the same effects, by limiting the amount of cash available for continuing operations.
It's not a unique situation to Italy - it's happened to a degree here in the US. Tight monetary policy makes it tough for businesses to grow. One thing in the Italian cowboy gunmakers' favor, I think, is that their market is outside of Italy, so it's quite a bit more secure than their domestic markets.
I don't think that Italy's "problem" is the need to get their hands on dollars. Despite the European financial troubles, the Euro is relatively stable. The problem is that there is so doggone much debt in relation to GDP that, dollars or Euros, their economy is on life support.
I should add two things: The European financial situation is a lot more complicated than the US situation because of the sovereignty of the various countries. Also, I'm an engineer, not an economist.
