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News

Interview: Costantino Vaia

11/10/2024 - Madeleine Royère-Koonings , Sophie Colvine
Costantino Vaia, CEO of the Casalasco Group, answered Tomato News questions on the 2024 processing tomato crop and Casalasco's plans for the future.  

We visited some fields and factories in northern Italy in September and it seems that this year's harvest was particularly difficult. Do you think this is an impact of climate change? And are you worried about the future in northern Italy?

Undoubtedly climate events of such a particular impact and frequency give us pause for thought. We who operate in the agricultural sphere are called upon to be ever more attentive and quicker in devising the best corrective actions, as far as we are concerned.
As far as the future of the cultivation of processing tomatoes in northern Italy is concerned, I believe that there are no particular worries as the level of actions introduced to protect this heritage is important and widespread.
In particular, I am referring to the high level of experimentation and consequent large-scale application of varietal selection, monitoring, irrigation and, in general, the conscious and measured use of production factors that this type of crop requires, even in a phase of slow but inexorable change in the natural environment.
Casalasco, with its 800 member farms, represents the first integrated supply chain for processing tomatoes in Italy. For this reason, it feels a strong responsibility to invest in order to guarantee stability and progress to its members over time.

What do you think about the increase in global production this year? How is it affecting your business? What's your view on the Chinese increase in production?

This is a quantum leap of particular significance which, undoubtedly, if confirmed, can have its effects on the world market. However, I believe that the quality standards on the finished product and the great attention to sustainability that characterise our production make and will make the difference over time. 

Moving to the markets now, Casalasco is present on the market both with its own brands and co-manufacturing/ private label. How do you see the markets evolving for your company? Italy vs the rest of the world? Your own brands vs co-manufacturing and private label?

The Casalasco Group has always developed two characteristics that have distinguished its continuous growth: Export and multi-channel business.
Of the 631.4 million euros attributable to 2023, more than two thirds were realised on Export, in over 60 countries worldwide, with a high heterogeneity of articles and formats that guarantee the company a strong specialisation and presence on increasingly complex and demanding markets.
At the same time, having invested in both a brand strategy (with its own brands Pomì and De Rica above all) and third-party processing has been particularly challenging but successful. Today Casalasco, precisely in the co-packing activities for large branded industries, which have always been its core business, can boast specific work teams and know-how that are also reflected in Private Labels serving the major European distribution chains.

Could you tell us more about your new innovation center which is due to open soon?

The new INNOVATION CENTER in Casalasco, which will be inaugurated in the coming months near our factory in Fontanellato, in the province of Parma, will be the hub for research and development of all the group's new projects.
It is a real estate investment focused on the reconversion of a building previously used as a warehouse that will be redeveloped into a hub for knowledge, meeting and sharing company know-how. It will also have zero impact on the environment: in fact, there will be no soil erosion from new buildings and it will be more than 90% powered by the energy produced by the agri-voltaic park that will be built nearby and that has been designed together with the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Piacenza to encourage the cultivation of processing tomatoes while reducing the environmental impact. Thanks to this plant, in fact, Casalasco will reduce CO2 emissions from its Fontanellato factory by 680 tons per year. 
Our history then tells of growth through internal lines and extraordinary M&A operations that bring with them the need to merge not only legal entities but also and above all people, stories and ideas that have characterised our path over the years. The new Innovation Centre therefore represents a wealth of experience to be shared internally within the company but also externally, with customers, consumers, suppliers and all stakeholders.

What do you see as the biggest challenges for your business in the next few years?

Without a doubt, I feel a strong responsibility to continue on Casalasco's path of sustainable growth, aimed at enhancing the Italian agro-industrial tomato supply chain and the fair distribution of value throughout it, respecting the environment and people, interpreting the needs of the market and continuing to invest in supporting the Group

What would you say defines a good product now, if you compare it to 30 years ago?

If 30 years ago there was a strong focus on product quality correlated with the level of competitiveness, in recent times the focus on quality is accompanied by a strong focus on how the product is made. Respect for the environment and protection of people are values that contribute decisively to the connotation of products on the market, precisely because of the consumer's great sensitivity to these aspects.
Today, varietal research and technology applied to the entire production chain are a decisive aid, both for product quality and for reducing environmental impact.

What are the concrete actions in the field of sustainability that Casalasco adopts along the supply chain?
 
There are many initiatives, especially regarding the agricultural phase, where we have adopted diagnosis and prevention systems for the rational use of resources.
Among these projects we underline the activities for the reduction of pesticides through innovative monitoring systems of fungal attacks, the fight against harmful insects also with natural antagonists and biological control.
The conscious use of water with rationalization of irrigation through the monitoring of probes in the soil and the experimentation of new technologies such as molecular dissociators and hydroponic power gels.
The combination of technological innovation (agriculture 4.0) and natural systems such as regenerative agriculture, cover crops, plantings in marginal areas and the cultivation of essences for the proliferation of honey insects are marking the increasingly sustainable path of Casalasco agricultural companies.
 
Casalasco also has launched an experimental project for the creation of the first agrivoltaic park for growing tomatoes, in collaboration with the Faculty of Agriculture of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Piacenza. The park, which involved an investment of approximately 2 million euros, will be ready in a year and will cover an area of about 2 hectares near our Fontanellato's plant. It will have an annual production capacity of about 1600 MWh which, together with the energy produced by the cogeneration plant installed in 2023 within the same site in Fontanellato, will be sufficient to cover over 90% of the plant's energy needs. This project represents a step towards energy self-sufficiency and the reduction of Casalasco's environmental impact, which through the agrivoltaic park will reduce CO2 emissions by 680 tonnes per year.


 
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