Tradition has it that a Prato company with two partners, sooner or later – sooner than later – separates into two individual companies. The splitting of the atom applied to reality and corporate law. It is therefore news that two contracting companies have decided to share shares of capital and together with them also part of their respective ones routes And destinies. It’s about the Industrial washing The source spa and del I steam Lia srl. Since the beginning of 2024 they have created a form of aggregation which directly involves the corporate structure. In the traditionally individualistic panorama of Prato textiles, their initiative could represent a model to be inspired by
Stefano Betti64 years old, owner of Vaporizzo Lia srl, talks about it to Sunday practice. Betti has held various positions in Cna and was vice president of the board of directors of Prato Savings Bank Foundation (of which he is a member) and chaired the association Pratofutura. The Vaporizzo Lia received the Stefanino d’oro in 2012/2013.
What does the aggregation between La Fonte and Vaporizzo Lia consist of?
“Technically, la Fonte purchased 10% of Vaporizzo Lia srl and Vaporizzo Lia purchased 10% of La Fonte’s shares. I joined the board of directors of La Fonte and Vaporizzo Lia in turn created the board of directors, which until now had no single decision-making figure, opening it up to Simone Paci, representing La Fonte”.
How did you get to this step? Out of conviction or convenience?
“These are two fully healthy companies, not competitors. La Fonte deals with fabrics, while Vaporizzo Lia deals with yarns. The first is over half a century old, is registered with Confindustria, has sixty employees and a management that is now in its second generation, with brothers Simone and Roberto Paci and Paolo and Gianluca Cirri. We are registered with the Cna, we have 28 employees and we have been operating for about forty years, having started from the almost family management between my father and his partner Giuseppe Gattai, Lia’s husband, to whom the company owes its name. I took over Gattai in 1983. Today I have my 27-year-old son Costantino at my side. What unites businesses is the mutual respect between people who share the founding values of the business: ethics, correctness, awareness of the social function. To answer the question, the belief to make their respective experiences available to the partner, with respect to any economic evaluation”.
The interior of the Vaporizzo Lia
How did the spark come?
“By attending Pratofutura, of which Simone Paci, Paolo Cirri and I are members. Among the many ideas theorized by economists, university professors and representatives of other Italian districts, the aggregation between companies was one of the most stimulating. And we decided to turn it into reality between two solid companies, which chose freely, without any urgency or immediate necessity”.
Stefano Betti (fourth from left) with the Pratofutura board
There will also be economic objectives.
“Certain. Starting from the increase in bargaining power deriving from making purchases in a group and which we have already experienced, for example, with a long-term rental contract for forklifts. We will be able to rationalize supplies and more easily manage aspects such as certifications of purpose and environmental sustainability, which are often problematic for companies with limited human resources like ours”,
Reverbs for the workers?
“There will be some, and all of them positive, because our plans include an agreement for a network contract that will allow the secondment of employees who give their consent, managing production peaks and drops as if we were a single company. Thus limiting the use of shock absorbers.”
And what about welfare?
“We are each taking inspiration from each other’s experience to improve the treatment of collaborators. At Vaporizzo Lia we have long had three-year agreements aimed at guaranteeing targeted productivity bonuses. From 2023 we have a welfare regulation to pay premiums paid in kind to benefit from tax relief. At Fonte they are further ahead thanks to the welfare platform which provides prizes that can be spent on school fees, books, access to nursing homes or thermal treatments, spas, holidays and other services. We also intend to extend these advantages to the staff at Vaporizzo Lia.”
Could other companies join you to take advantage of the benefits in purchasing tools and welfare?
“That’s what we hope for. Our network project has started. has started and it will be possible to take inspiration from it or join it, remaining autonomous subjects”.
Rescued during the November 2023 flood in Prato
Speaking of seconding employees, during the November flood workers from Vaporizzo Lia were involved in helping the affected families, together with volunteers.
“We reported no direct damage, nor the homes of our collaborators. We were unharmed, but work was scarce due to customers being affected and unable to send us semi-finished products to process. So I asked the collaborators if they agreed to make themselves available to Civil Protection and voluntary associations, to carry out the shifts that they would otherwise have covered in the factory”.
Result?
“Almost everyone responded positively: I armed them with boots, shovel, disposable overalls and for the whole month, they worked for several days, especially on behalf of Stremao: the women preparing parcels with food, the workers shoveling, cleaning basements , allow families, shops, laboratories in Prato and Campi to get back to normal life”.
How much did this gesture of solidarity have on Vaporizzo’s wages?
“Only in November, for 30%”.
Did La Fonte also share your gesture?
“They were not directly affected either, but some workers reported damage to their homes and received help from the company. Furthermore, La Fonte washed the fabrics of regular customers and others free of charge if they were submerged in water or mud.”
What has changed in the life of your companies in the first months after the merger?
“I speak for myself. At sixty-four I found myself deliberating with others for the first time. I appreciated Simone Paci’s speed of decision making, compared to the time I allow myself. Beyond this detail, he is true to the adage that goes: alone you go faster, together you go further”.
A year ago, Beste’s operation caused a sensation, as he sold the majority of the capital to the Turin-based Holding Moda group. Did that precedent encourage your decision?
“No. And not only due to the different sizes and nature of the companies. We are subcontractors, figures very distant from the final market, the only condition capable of determining the increase in revenue margins. We provide services, we fly lower, we are a variable cost for the customer (if there are no orders, you don’t pay) and we guarantee an added value of professionalism and experience in the specialized phases. difficult to achieve by those who have chosen vertical production, entirely concentrated in the company”.
The signing of the agreement between Beste and Holding Moda: Giovanni Santi and Matteo Santi with Claudio Rovere and Giulio Guasco
For example?
“Verticalised, full cycle wool mills such as Beste, Ricceri and Cofil also turn to us and other subcontractors. The supply chain always needs phase specialists”.
Has anyone thinking of imitating your model asked for advice?
“At the moment there is some interest and we are ready to listen. Our hope is to form a network of companies which, while maintaining their autonomy and perhaps not proceeding with the exchange of shares as we and La Fonte have done, adhere to a contract through which objectives in terms of contractual arrangements and purchasing power are achieved and unimaginable competitiveness with a limited number of participating entities”.
A way to fill the gap of microbusinesses.
“Of course, we remain micro, but we become bigger and stronger by joining the network.”
A textile company from Prato
How is the Prato textile industry doing?
“After the covid emergency, in 2022 there was a surge in spending on ephemeral things: travel, restaurants, hotels, music, sport and fashion itself, despite skyrocketing energy costs, partly supplemented by credit tax. That momentum is now over and there is no return to pre-pandemic consumption.”
This has happened all over the world.
“The November flood also affected Prato, with the 325 blocked for a long time due to landslides. The drop in sales suffered by the large brands that purchase fabrics and yarns from our customers has a cascade effect on us as contractors.”
Does textiles still attract young people from Prato?
“There is a sharp decline in interest in the offer of textiles, but I don’t like those who accuse kids of being lazy. During the flood, they offered a great example of sensitivity and availability by rushing to the aid of the affected populations. Furthermore, many young people are spending their degrees in France, Germany, the United States and this is a sign of growth”.
The reality says that many do not work, do not study, do not look for work.
“Let’s look at what they are offered: six-month contracts, few prospects, low-quality employment. Instead of criticizing them, let’s try to improve these conditions.”
As?
“With stable work, empowerment, loyalty to the company. The attention that the person receives and the work environment represent an attraction. In addition to the aforementioned productivity bonuses, at Vaporizzo Lia when an employee retires, we create the Massimo-day, the Lina-day etc. as a farewell party. At Fonte, the periodic dinners with all the employees are legendary. Even these small attentions make the employee feel important and motivated.”
The problem lies in the balance: for young graduates who leave, Prato is the arrival point of foreigners destined at most for manufacturing.
“Manufacturing, especially at levels of specialisation, small batches, will always exist: only large series productions can be delegated to machines. In the company I have a young Senegalese who studied mathematics at university in his country and this also represents an added value in his duties as a worker”.
Foreigners-resources.
“The director of Eco di Biella was a guest with Pratofutura. He revealed to us that there are barely two thousand foreigners registered there and that this is a consequence of the unavailability of the Biella people and the Piedmontese in general to welcome them. If Biella is in crisis it is also because there is a lack of manpower. It is important that these resources are used legally, recognizing every right of the person and the worker”.
Prato people do it.
“But not all those who operate in our territory. We see businesses often managed by Chinese, who employ compatriots or Pakistanis or Bangladeshis or Maghrebians in illegal conditions and starvation wages. Do you know who makes me very angry?”
Who?
“Those who say that the Chinese are like the Prato people of fifty or sixty years ago. It is not true. The people of Prato welcomed thousands of families from the south, providing jobs, the possibility of buying a house and having their children study. The Chinese, with widespread illegality, also affect the city’s reputation: if thirty years ago, when anyone asked us where we came from, we had to specify Prato, near Florence, today we have to face the suspicions and irony of those who approach us with illegal work, with exploitation, with contempt for every rule. The Chinese often don’t care about the living conditions of those who work for them. Please don’t compare them to the Prato people of the past anymore.”
drawing by Marco Milanesi
