Transcript Diapositiva 1

According to a popular legend, at the end of every
rainbow there is a pot full of gold coins.
In an ancient game played in village festivals, the
blindfolded participant wields a stick and tries to hit
a terra cotta pot filled with food specialities and
sweets. The kitchen pot has always been a symbol
of fortune, prosperity, joy, and family warmth. It is an
object present in every home.
Every day, it is used for the domestic ritual of cooking. We
entrust to it both the rich flavours of tradition and the recipes
of our own age, straightforward, quick, with no fats. The
kitchen pan, though an apparently simple product, is in fact a
valuable object that has been given new qualities by
contemporary materials and technology. Aluminium for better
thermal efficiency, shock-resistant enamel and coatings, nonstick materials: hundreds of different shapes, millions of units
for millions of kitchens.
The company "Ballarini Paolo e Figli S.p.A." was founded and
grew in a small town near Mantua, named Rivarolo
Mantovano.
The factory in fact opened in 1889, when Paolo Ballarini
began his career.
His first workshop handcrafted metal products, such as bird
cages, and, towards the end of the 19th century, items in
coated or tin-plated metal sheet for the kitchen.
This is how Paolo began a crafts operation in the area of
kitchen utensils. Soon he managed to increase production
following a donation of small manually-operated machine
tools for sheet metal working, from a family in Bozzolo that
was closing down its business.
In later years, Paolo’s son Angelo further developed business, to
the point that he was considered the true originator of
"Ballarini Paolo e Figli S.p.A.".
In fact, in the early 20th century, he increased the range of
articles manufactured: Neapolitan-type coffee pots, frying
pans, graters, footwarmers, bedwarmers and bathtubs.
The Ballarini family, who had developed considerable
expertise in metal-working, understood that products for the
home would see a great development in the future, and that it
was necessary to plan the transformation from handcrafting to
industrial production techniques.
The initial phases of this process coincided with the arrival of
the new generation, but this was immediately followed by the
difficult war years.
The period after the First World War was very important for the
company. Angelo succeeded in adapting the skills and
technology that he had been forced to apply during the War, in
part during his work at the Caproni aircraft works.
In 1924, he began to build the new factory, and innovative new
enamelled metal objects were introduced into the production
range. This spirit of research and the willingness to invest in
the company enabled it to survive the moments of market
crisis.
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Further impetus for development was provided by the
introduction of copper as a material for pan production,
adapting the existing manufacturing technology and processes
used for other metals.
The Second World War slowed production and changed it in
part, so that, when production recommenced full swing, the
company invested its resources in the manufacture of items
made by working aluminium and enamelled plate metal.
In this period its most significant products were cake tins,
bedwarmers, backstrap milk churns, and coffee pots.
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Angelo Ballarini, the man who had done so much to project
the company towards an industrial dimension, died in 1953.
Responsibility for manufacturing passed to his sons, Carlo,
Sandro and Emilio, who for a number of years had been
assisting their father in his project for company expansion.
In the 1960s, the aluminium pans market began to show signs
of slowing. The traditional aluminium saucepans that for many
years had dominated the kitchen were supplanted by colourful
coated saucepans, following the invention of Teflon. In 1967,
after a period of research, Ballarini made its first Teflon-coated
pan, a piece that still today is conserved in the company’s
historic museum.
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The favourable initial results, the positive response from the
market, and the company’s growing expertise in the
preparation and application of non-stick coatings, laid the
foundations for a new and important investment in 1973,
which would be decisive in determining future growth: a plant
for applying non-stick coatings, entirely designed within the
company. The considerable technological and manufacturing
potential of this plant (high productivity and very competitive
running costs) enabled the product to be launched successfully
on many foreign markets.
In the late 1970s, the fourth generation took their place in the
company: the founder’s great-grandchildren Giuseppe, Angelo,
Guido and Roberto.
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They are now at the head of the company.
Specific demand from foreign markets led to the design and
implementation of another technological investment, which
completed the production cycle. A financial operation in 1980
permitted the purchase of a state-of-the-art plant for coating
the external surfaces of pans. This made it possible to
introduce new, very bright colours and shades that proved to
be greatly appreciated by customers.
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At this point, Ballarini was truly able to offer its clients all
types of products, differentiated according to material
thickness, colour, type of coating, and therefore, price bracket.
Successively, in response to demands from the different
markets, which increasingly privileged high-quality products,
a new, latest-technology plant was added to the already
comprehensive manufacturing cycle, for the production of
vitreous enamel. This substance is a top-quality coating
material, exceptionally hard and durable, for the exterior
surface of pans.
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Products of this type were in high demand on the market in
Germany and France, where the concept of quality had already
become a part of the consumer purchasing process. Very soon
it was extended to other European and world markets by
means of the company’s regular participation at the most
important international trade fairs.
The figures today
The market of aluminium pans with non-stick coating has
reached a considerable size over the last 25 years. In Italy it
represents 70% of the total market, while in Europe it accounts
for 60% of the pans manufactured and sold. This significant
quota is growing continuously, because consumers
increasingly consider non-stick products as the ideal solution
to their requirements.
The figures attained by Ballarini demonstrate its leadership
role in the industry, and its great qualitative and quantitative
contribution to the development of the market by means of
products that represent a guarantee and a point of reference in
Italy and world-wide.
Today, Ballarini exports 74% of its production to European
markets and other countries further afield.
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Over 250 employees work at the factory in Rivarolo
Mantovano, manufacturing over 12 million pieces every year.
The recent arrival of Alessandro and Luca Ballarini offers a
further demonstration of the family’s firm belief in the value of
research, consolidating a tradition of over a century. Attention
to product quality, along with environment protection.