In the history of this gem, founded in Carpi and
now present throughout the world, you can sense the indissoluble bond between
Emilian textile art and the capacity to scale markets and grow turnover,
focussing on quality. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo Colletti interviews Carlo
Parisatto, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer of CadicaGroup
di Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Masterpieces are made of
details. And this reasoning applies to clothing too. Perhaps even above all to
clothing. Indeed, details are what completes a garment: they have a marginal
impact on the costs but enhance the image, promoting the brand, adding a je ne sais quoi that makes the
difference. They understand this at CadicaGroup, the company from Carpi that
makes labels, tags, patches and accessories for some of the most well-known
brands in the world.
The
history. It all began way back in 1973, in the town of Carpi renowned for its
weaving tradition, one of the historical areas of the weaving industry that
everyone knows. Hereabouts, at least until very recently, there was a loom in
every garage. Because the entire community was busy weaving. And they did it
with enthusiasm, skill and resilience. That community, continuing to weave,
created new professional paths and undertook new challenges. Basically, that's
what happened in Cadica. Because this story springs from another profession,
that of the printer. Then it evolved. Its very name is linked to the territory
of Emilia because is includes the first letters of the name Carpi, followed by the initials of the
two founding families: Diacci and
Carnevali. It began as a family business. Then, in 2016, the company was
fully taken over by the Gradiente Sgr fund that had already acquired the
majority shareholding in 2014. This was a watershed moment that led to another
evolution. The elements that allowed it to scale markets, arouse interest and
increase turnover arrived. In 2021 Cadica recorded a turnover of Euro 51
million, while that of group was Euro 78 million. But what is striking is the
double-digit percentage growth of +35% YoY. From Carpi, but international by
definition. Indeed, the spirit is Emilian but the company is present throughout
Italy and serves markets all over the world. There is the plant in Monte
Odorisio, near Vasto, in Abruzzo: here the weaving, delicate and important
stage, takes place. Instead, at Tolentino, a town with a population of twenty
thousand in the district of Macerata, the packaging is made. In Tuscany, at
Campo Tizzori on the mountains of Pistoia, the graphic work is produced. And in
Milan there is the design studio. There are overseas branches in America, China
and Hong Kong. The team now counts 400 people with a keen sense of customer
service. «We have decided to be where our customers have decided to be, distributing
throughout the world. So, even if historically we were born as a manufacturing
company, around twenty years ago, with the first movements of luxury customers
to Eastern Europe, we further developed and, to follow them, we decided to
forge partnerships. The difference lies in the ability to really be there for
the client, also in terms of a physical presence. Today, we employ 60 people at
the offices in China and 20 in Hong Kong. A few years ago, with the reshoring,
we returned to Italy and are now a leader in our segment thanks to a formula
that blends creativity, consultancy and logistic services», says Carlo
Parisatto, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer of CadicaGroup.
The circular evolution. Sensing the market,
understanding the new demands and trying to propose innovative answers. So, in
the early 1980s, the company’s new mission was defined based on a study of the
rapid changes in the market and of styles: provide a complete consultancy,
design and production service for clothing manufacturers. And we aim to
accomplish this by focussing on the absolute quality of the products and on a
dynamic service that can rapidly and flexibly meet the customers’ needs. And
again, ongoing research of fashion trends and new technical solutions, upgrade
of machinery and of the production and management software. Today, we make
between 800 million and one billion tags and 3 billion fabric labels in just
the first four months of the year. «Today were are light years away from the
practical and anonymous labels of bygone years that were used to indicate the
size of a shirt, for example. Woven and printed labels, ribbons, laser die-cut
badges and emblems of any shape, patches in plastic or woven materials, tags,
are all signs that identify a collection at first glance», says Parisatto.
Aiming at excellence means putting the people in the condition to perform to
their best. And this is where a highly innovative welfare system comes into
play. «We listen to our people, to their needs. For example, in our company,
the mums and dads are paid for their children's nursery school and there is
high awareness of our people’s needs», says Parisatto. Today, the production
chain is fully traceable and we make sustainable and eco-friendly products. The
future aims at sustainability, circularity and the advanced use of technologies
linked to 3D. «Before being able to propose items to our customers we have to
make a multitude of samples. To reduce this waste we have decided to adopt 3D
technology: in this way the customer makes a preliminary selection online. We
are constantly researching new, high-performance sustainable materials, taking
a gamble on solutions linked to recycling and organic materials», concludes
Parisatto. Getting busy for a better world. This is the way forward for companies
of excellence.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
Leggi le altre interviste
