It is 150 years old but looks to the future as if it were a startup. This is how Molini Pivetti – a Ferrara-based company with a turnover of EUR 62 million, a production capacity of 240,000 tons of flour and semi-finished products per year and 62 employees – has used technology and steady monitoring to design a future that is friendly with the environment and the community. For FARE INSIEME Giampaolo Colletti inteviews Silvia Pivetti, member of the Board of Molini Pivetti
di Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
A square teeming with people, a stone well and
horse-drawn carriages. And on the right is the Pivetti mill. One image containing
a hundred more. A black-and-white paper rectangle with so many lives inside.
Lives of people and lives of communities. This faded postcard — now scanned and
recorded for posterity — tells the story of this Emilia-based business. It is a
photo that belongs in the past, but it is the best way to approach the story of
Molini Pivetti. Because it documents our passion for the earth and desire to
make a difference. At the bottom of this postcard, you can see where we are. We
are in Renazzo, a little town of just over 6,000 people in the municipality of
Cento, in the sprawling province of Ferrara. A name that contains the most
precious asset, the one that gave birth to the mill almost 150 years ago:
Water. Because Renazzo, like so many other hamlets in the municipality of
Cento, has the river Reno in its name, a river that in the Middle Ages ran west
of Cento and used to overflow right where Molino Pivetti would be built
centuries later. One of its branches then finishes in the northern Panaro
river, between Casumaro and Finale Emilia. It was in Renazzo in 1875 that
Valente Pivetti decided to build this steam mill for the milling of common
wheat. Since then, five generations have come and gone and a lot of water under
the bridge. Today Molini Pivetti is a company specializing in the production of
high-quality flour for professional and domestic use. A company with a turnover
of EUR 62 million and a production capacity of 240,000 tons of flour and
semi-finished products per year. 62 employees work there. Passion, tradition,
technology: This is how the little mill became an industrial jewel able to
grind wheat for all purposes. Today, it is comprised of three plants, six
storage centres, two research laboratories equipped with advanced technology,
and a new automated warehouse. Eight experienced technicians are working to
ensure the highest quality standards at every stage of production. "But we
are no strangers to technological innovation. We have been innovating since
1911, although now we are doing so with a very strong focus on the
environment", says Silvia Pivetti, born in 1974 and holder of a law
degree. She has worked for the company for twenty years and is now a Board
member with her brothers. "Wheat is a treasure and flour is a mission for
us. I have known that since I was a child. I have always been surrounded by
these smells and been near the fields", recalls Pivetti.
That
connection to the earth. How far we have come over the years. Over the centuries. We started as
a steam mill in 1875, but now we are a company specializing in the production
of high-quality flour for professional and domestic use. Roots in the
territory, but with the ability to conquer markets, turnover and interest.
Because tradition can be inextricably linked to sustainable innovation. Today,
Molini Pivetti is targeting more sales channels and also looking to Europe,
North America and the Middle East to export the best-quality Italian flour
worldwide. Getting things done, but
above all doing them well. That we
are focusing on environmental and social sustainability. "We think it is
essential to take care of the land and we have long developed sustainability
programs with farmers, prominent figures and partners in the production and
supply chains of Molini Pivetti. Environmental resources are not infinite and
we feel the need to take care of them and to pass this value on to future
generations, redirecting the food chain and regenerating nature", says
Pivetti.
In 1973, there was a shift to public limited
companies. Then in 1997, a second mill went into operation with its
headquarters in San Giovanni in Persiceto. And again in 2019, the automated
warehouse was opened, with a capacity to move 150 pallets/hour. In 2021, the
Sustainability Manifesto was launched and in June 2022, the first sustainability
report containing four points of commitment to responsible growth: Agriculture, Territory, Responsibility,
Team. "In line with our principles, we have a direct relationship with
farmers — especially local ones — to produce the best grains together.
Moreover, we have developed the “Campi Protetti Pivetti” project, the first
brand that manages a controlled supply chain and the full traceability of
flour, using processing, conditioning and storage facilities while respecting
nature", says Pivetti. Pivetti Lab was created in 2021, a digital training
platform that offers professional courses, aimed not only at experienced
professionals but also at those who want to get a start in the profession by
developing an entrepreneurial idea.
Hi-tech mill. Digitizing the supply chain
allows the environmental impact to be identified for each step, from field to
table. xFarm Technologies is the source of the “Campi Protetti Pivetti
Sostenibile” common grain industry. The twenty farms that are involved with
Molini Pivetti have the xFarm application at their disposal so that they can
get immediate feedback on their impact, get annual reports on whether
sustainability parameters are improving, and understand where and when to take
action to mitigate their impact and improve the parameters.
The future is about research, control and attention
to detail. Silvia Pivetti is convinced of this. "Until recently, we only
talked about white flour, but we are now diversifying the product. We are
therefore committed to research-driven innovation in high-protein whole-wheat
flour. Our pool of farm agronomists monitors the activities of our chain flour.
With the disciplinary measures we only use raw materials from Emilia. The
automated warehouse improves efficiency and logistics, while the bags are
moving toward a weight reduction for easy handling and are 100% recyclable. Now
the challenge is to understand how to improve the impact of CO2 on the flour
produced", Pivetti concludes. This is the only way to conserve the past
while looking to the future.
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