NUMBER 4
"We celebrate our fortieth anniversary in front of the realization of another new large production plant which is under construction. I believe that the best way to celebrate the several years of a company's history is to grow further, along with our customers and co-operators, because a company that grows is a company that is still young."This was one of the many significant passages of the remarks made by company president Franco Manfredini in welcoming the guests attending the gala evening for the fortieth anniversary of Casalgrande Padana. Over 800 people attended the event held at Palazzo Albergati in Zola Predosa, which provided a perfect background for the celebration. The initiative also included moments of entertainment provided by television anchor woman Roberta Capua and musical interludes by the much applauded group Banda Osiris.
During the course of the evening, awards were given for "collaboration, faithfulness, and competence" to those retailers who, have been highly appreciated and reliable partners of Casalgrande Padana, for the longest time and with the best sales performance. To them and to all the guests, a special gift was made of the book "Storie di Orlando" (Stories of Orlando).
Together with the guests of honour, also present at Palazzo Albergati were the Casalgrande Padana distributors and retailers from all over the world, "the most precious part of our company", as Mr. Manfredini described them, "people who speak many different languages, have different religious beliefs, come from countries with different histories and cultures, and clearly depict the capacity of trade to bring different people together to get to know each other.
" Mr. Manfredini then traced the most important moments of these forty years of Casalgrande Padana history, "an original itinerary, through the ups and downs of the market and all sorts of difficulties, always overcome with the strength of will and determination." A constant reference point, a sort of North Pole, has been provided by the personal commitment of the company founders and partners in the day-to-day management, the involvement of employees and associates in the ideal of belonging to a large family-like company, and attention to customers' needs.
Here are the figures for 1961, the starting point: 30 employees, daily production of 400 square metres in a factory of 4000 square metres. And here are today's figures: 420 employees; 35,000 square metres produced daily (10 million a year); annual sales of 200 billion lira (65% from abroad, compared to only 5% twenty years ago when sales were 20 billion lira); three production plants covering 75,000 square metres, soon to become 110,000 with the start of operation of the new plant announced for the year 2001. The new factory will enable Casalgrande Padana to increase the current production by over 70% in the next three to four years. It will be equipped with the most modern state-of-the-art technologies which will not only enable the massive increase in production but also production of every type of ceramic flooring and wall covering in the medium-high quality range.
Casalgrande Padana-President Manfredini reminded us with understandable pride but without excessive boasting-has always been a courageous company, always in the avant-garde. It was the first, in 1964, to start the production of white and coloured body porcelain stoneware to provide flooring products that would be more resistant to wear and to chemical agents. This choice was never abandoned, not even when difficulties were encountered or in order to follow the momentary fashion trends. It was a choice that placed Casalgrande Padana in a position among the top six or seven Italian tiles manufacturers, a world leader in terms of market share, the completeness of the range, and the quality of the product.
The majority of profits invested in technological innovation; respect for the environment; safety in the work place (absences due to accident or illness are lower than the average); a sense of belonging among the employees, associates, and customers; production flexibility; a highly flexible commercial organization; excellent service and attention to human relations; research and professional training: these are the strong points of the company strategy.
"The result of these forty years," added Mr. Manfredini in concluding, after citing the great Italian economist Luigi Einaudi, "has been positive for us and above all for the company that we work in. Any self-respecting enterprise is justified only according to its social utility. We will continue our work by ensuring the growth of not only the physical and technical structures of our company but also the human wealth, which holds intact the values inherent in our history. Our pride in the past thus becomes a commitment for the future.
" Looking toward the company's fiftieth anniversary, there is no lack of interesting objectives: to verify the globalized economic situation, technological developments, and production evolution in the ceramic sector and... to see whether, as happened with the thirtieth and fortieth anniversaries, another new Casalgrande Padana factory will be in the works.
