Pandoro, but not only. The historic Venetian company Melegatti, once the fear of bankruptcy has passed, restarts with 35 employees, 26 of whom are part of those who, until a few weeks ago, were still part of the old company and who had a bad time, risking being left without a job. Instead, on 19 November the acquisition was formalized, for 13,5 million, by the entrepreneurs Giacomo Spezzapria and Denis Moro, now respectively president and managing director of the company that has the production plant in San Giovanni Lupatoto, in the province of Verona .
Not only pandoro because now Melegatti is part of a food group made up of three packaging companies: "Eriplast" from Vicenza, "Fucine Film" from Trentino and "Albertazzi G." from Modena. The Veronese plant, which was closed from last year's Christmas campaign, is therefore reopening its doors even if production will be limited for now. “The first real internal production will be at Easter 2019”, the two managers declared in an interview with Sole 24 Ore, but Melegatti will absolutely not miss the traditional Christmas appointment: “We hope to be on the shelves of large-scale distribution by 8 December. We are still negotiating with the various brands, but distribution will be as extensive as possible".
The new owners also already have clear financial objectives: “It's too early to say but we count on reaching between 35 and 45 million in turnover for 2019; we intend to focus on exports and in the development plan we will increase job opportunities in Melegatti”, added Giacomo Spezzapria and Denis Moro, who in the meantime have also signed an important agreement with Unicredit to support the company's relaunch plan. "The loan agreement, through medium-long term credit lines, will support the company's development plan and relaunch the historic brand of the Italian confectionery industry", reads a statement released by the bank in Piazza Gae Aulenti .
The loan will also make it possible to consolidate and increase employment in the future, as stated by Roberto Spezzapria, vice president of Melegatti: "We are happy for having reopened Melegatti, reassuring a future for workers and to the territory and the return of the famous confectionery products to consumers' tables is guaranteed”. “The value of this operation for Unicredit is not only economic, but much wider. We intend to concretely confirm our commitment to support Made in Italy and all those serious, wide-ranging entrepreneurial initiatives that aim to create widespread and sustainable development", added Sebastiano Musso, Unicredit's North East Regional Manager.
