Bologna boasts a rich and stable economy which, thanks to innovation and strong local roots, has been able to fully overcome the economic crisis of 2008. In particular, the sectors that generate most turnover, generate more jobs, and represent Italy’s economy abroad are: the mechanical sector (in particular cars and motorbikes), tourism, and the agri-food sector.
Camst
Camst is an italian company that works within the catering sector: collective, commercial, using their own brand Tavolamica, Magnosfera, Gustamì, Camst Cafè. Their main headquarters are based in Villanova di Castenaso, in the province of Bologna; they also have commercial branches. Camst is currently the leader of catering in the centre and North of the country.
The Camst Group comprises of 10 companies around Italy and a few in other countries (Spain, Germany, Denmark); it achieves a turnover of 626 million euros, has 13,000 employees, and produces 115 million meals every year.
It offers personalised services to cater to costumers’ every need, guaranteeing tradition, good food, controlled ingredients, certified safety and quality.
The cooperative’s initial objective (June 1945) was to give jobs to all the cooks, waiters, and baristas in a period of high unemployment. They started off their activity offering specific services inside the train station of Bologna, selling drinks at the stadium, and distributing fliers for parties and refreshments.
For more than 70 years Camst has been bringing the quality of home-made food to schools, hospitals, cities… Plus, it produces a whopping 20 million meals a year. Lastly, the group has an extremely solid organisational, financial, and economic structure.
Coop Alleanza 3.0
Coop Alleanza 3.0 is the biggest Italian consumer cooperative, created to offer quality and convenience to its millions of members every day. It incorporates 94 consumer cooperatives (of which 7 have great impact) with 359 supermarkets, 56,682 employees, it counts more than 2.7 million members, and produces an annual revenue of €4.2 billion.
The fusion of Coop. Adriatica, Coop. Consumatori Nordest and the Coop. Estense creates the Coop Alleanza 3.0, founded on 1st January 2016. It counts 2.7 million members, a 5 billion euro turnover, and over 22 thousand employees. It the largest cooperative in our country. A consumer cooperative is a society founded by people, established to meet the needs of its members and, more generally, of consumers, from an economic, social, and cultural point of view. The cooperative is based on a series of values: equality of the rights, democracy, solidarity, individual responsibility, and equity. As a matter of fact, the cooperative was inspired by the ethics of work, honesty, respect for commitment, and social responsibility.
Coop Alleanza 3.0 was put together with the desire to be closer to its members, offering the best quality at the best possible price. Indeed, the distance between cooperative and consumer is guaranteed: 419 stores, 56 hypermarkets scattered over 12 regions in North and South Italy.
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A, best known as “Lamborghini”, is an Italian sports car manufacturer founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini. Lamborghini currently belongs to the Volkswagen subsidiary, Audi.
Ferruccio bought a large plot of land in Sant’Agata Bolognese, about 25km away from Bologna, to build a new, large, ultra-modern factory. Although the production rates and number of employees constantly grew, Ferruccio Lamborghini always played a crucial and strategic role within the company. He actually started the now famous tradition of naming the cars after breeds of fighting bulls – gallant, strong and intimidating, just like his cars. In 2017 worldwide sales grew for the 7th consecutive year, from 3457 to 3815 units, almost tripling since 2010. The turnover of the company passed the one billion Euro mark, increasing from 906 million to 1009 million (+11%). The total workforce in 2017 increased from 1,415 to nearly 1,600 employees.
Philip Morris
Philip Morris is the biggest tobacco company in the world, part of the “Altria Group”. It comprises of 2 societies, each specialised in operations within United States and in the rest of the world, respectively. In 2006, its sales represented almost 15% of the world cigarette market. Over the years, the company, cooperating with Philip Morris Italia, built a solid know-how for prototyping and industrialising technologically advanced cigarette filters. With its offices and factory based in Zola Predosa, near Bologna, Philip Morris Manufacturing & Technology Bologna S.p.A. (PMMTB) is a recognised Center of Excellence for its innovative cigarette filter production process.
Yoox
Yoox is the world’s leading online lifestyle store for fashion, design & art, founded in 2000 in Bologna. The brand offers an extensive variety of unique and special clothing for both men and women, accessories, and a selection of home design objects. It also collaborates with famous artists, socially and environmentally responsible brands, and kidswear. All of this was possible thanks to the long-standing relationship with manufacturers, designers, and retailers worldwide. Furthermore, the company delivers to more than 100 countries. Also, if you need to change or return items, the procedure is fast and easy.
With the collaboration of Net-a-porter (the world’s premier online luxury fashion site for content and commerce) it developed “Yoox Net-a-porter group”, the world’s new leading online luxury fashion retailer. Yoox counts more than 3 million customers, over 840 million page-visits worldwide, and consolidated net revenues equal to € 2.1 billion (2017). It delivers to more than 180 countries.
Watch this video if you want to know more about Yoox.
Hera
Hera was founded on 1st November 2002; it was the result of the merging process of 11 different companies from Emilia-Romagna. Hera is one of the largest multi-utility companies operating within environmental, water, and energy sectors. Public lighting and telecommunication services were then added to afore-mentioned list. The number of services offered by the company is in continuous and constant development; such services correspond to the five levels upon which the Group’s strategy rests: growth, efficiency, excellence, innovation, and agility. Insofar as the Italian public service is concerned, the Hera Group’s leadership has good statistics: its 9000 employees satisfy the needs of over 4 million citizens in 350 municipalities all over Italy. Their business model is capable of innovation, whilst at the same time maintaining its territorial roots and respecting the environment.
Hera has become one of the greatest Italian multi-utility companies, with a turnover of 5.6 billion euros in 2017 and a customer base of about 2.2 million customers. The Group aspires to become the “best Italian utility”.
Watch this video if you want to know more about Hera.
Granarolo
Granarolo is an Italian food group, founded in 1957. Its headquarters are based in Bologna. The group produces fresh milk and dairy products (milk, yoghurt, desserts, ice creams, fresh cream, cheeses…), dry pasta, balsamic vinegars, cured meats, and plant food. The Granarolo Group operates in all the stages of the process: from producing raw materials to distributing the finished product to points of sale. Their involvement guarantees a targeted, well-planned, and quality-oriented production. Granarolo is the largest agro-food group in Italy with Italian capital. Moreover, it includes two different yet synergic companies: Granlatte, a cooperative of milk producers operating in the agricultural sector and responsible for milk collection, and Granarolo S.p.A., a company which processes and markets the finished product through 18 production sites located all over Italy and 7 production sites abroad.
The Granarolo Group now has 700 milk producers, 70 vehicles for the collection of raw material from stables, 1,200 distribution vehicles which move 850,000 tonnes of milk a year and serve more than 50,000 points of sale each day, ultimately reaching 16 million Italian families. In 2017, the year of the 60th anniversary of Granarolo, the company reported a turnover of 1.27 billion euros – with a 7.8% increase.
Watch this video if you want to know more about Granarolo.
