From the Emilian food valley to the global markets. An excellent company is born from an intuition and becomes a staple in food quality control. Today, Neotron processes 1200 samples a day thanks to around 500 people, turning complexity into value It accompanies businesses beyond compliance thanks to its technology, human capital and vision. Because trust is built over time, data after data. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo Colletti interviews Marcello Bergamini, CEO Neotron
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
How do we help food producers check for the presence of contaminants harmful to the health of consumers? It is not an easy question to answer, but one that became an obsession for Giancarlo Gatti. After all, he was born in that food valley that was accelerating its industrialisation process in the 1970s, while maintaining the maximum focus on products, high-quality and on the care needed to prepare them. That question remained lodged in his mind - it was not a project nor a company yet, it was more like an urgency. Because that question involved something bigger, that is the need to support businesses. Then an intuition came along. It is not enough to check - you need to understand. It is not enough to certify - you need to anticipate. It is not enough to say that something is compliant - you must be certain that it is safe. That is how Neotron was born - not as a laboratory, but as an answer to an actual need. It was in Vignola in 1975: in the land where food is not just produced, but it is part of the culture, of the identity, it is a responsibility. This is where a journey started that changed in scale but never lost sight of its starting point.
Company profile. Everything started smaller, yet not simpler. Every sample was a story, every analysis was a decision, every result was a consequence. Then the context changed. In the 1980s, consumer attention increased and, with it, their expectations and so the bar was raised. Neotron did not stand by watching: it moved first, introducing advanced checks on pesticides in baby food. A technical as well as a cultural choice. That is when something happened: doors started opening to international collaborations, with the laboratory becoming a point of reference. Initial demands started turning into a system. Today, the company processes 1200 samples a day - that’s right, 1200 - boasting over 550 employees in the Modena headquarters, located at the centre of a motorway logistic crossroads, covering over 10 thousand square metres of laboratories, as well as the technical and commercial departments supporting the analysis activities. It operates in the food, packaging, cosmetic, food supplement and pharmaceutical sectors. The average age of employees is 39, with 70% of the company population holding a degree, with 7 out of 10 women and a very low turnover. All phases are checked, traced and verified. Here complexity is not reduced, it is managed. “Listening to clients has turned a family business into an international reality. We have turned complexity into a strength,” says Marcello Bergamini, CEO at Neotron. It evolves rapidly because companies today are not only looking for analyses, but for answers. They are looking for a direction, namely someone that is a step ahead. “It no longer has to do with compliance: clients want to stand out on the market,” explains Bergamini. Therefore laboratories become partners. And, even if technology accelerates with increasingly sensitive tools, increasingly deep data and AI becoming part of the processes, there is always a human component that makes the difference. Because, in the end, everything has to do with people. Technologists, chemists and biologists do not just execute, they interpret, decide and understand. “We are a company with a very high density of human capital. Expert judgement is still fundamental. Our culture is based on the capability of providing clear and correct answers to our clients. This is the value of information. Today, we reason on an extended set of services to help our clients and protect their brand,” says Bergamini.
The evolution. Consumers change as well - they are now more careful, more informed and more demanding. They do not want just safety, they want authenticity, they want to know: this changes everything. Companies are improving their checks, looking for new contaminants, verifying raw materials and protecting the brand. It is a more complex, faster and exposed world, That is why someone is needed to monitor the situation. Neotron's place is there, between what you see and what you don’t see, between data and decisions, between risks and trust. And, while the world is globalising, Neotron changes scale too: today, around half of the turnover comes from abroad, from long, interconnected and fragile supply chains. And what about trust? It needs to be built up day after day, especially in complex times. “That is where you become a true partner, because demand for transparency is increasing,” concludes Bergamini. Therefore, it all all reverts back to the first question, the one that was imprinted in the founder’s mind. Because, after all, great companies do not stem from perfect answers, but from questions that nag you and to which you find a solution with patience, passion and dedication.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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