Prato, 8 June 2024 – Cap will celebrate 80 years of activity in 2025 and is preparing for a relaunch in terms of employment and new projects.
Its president, Federico Toscano, who took office in 2020, speaks about it: president, what is Cap today?
“La Cap is the Prato cooperative, founded on its 138 members, half of whom work in Autolinee Toscane, confident that they will soon be able to return to work for their company. We are a growing reality in all sectors, profoundly renewed and which has almost 250 highly specialized employees in their fields”.
After joining Autolinee Toscane, how did you reconvert?
“Cap continued to work as always. After a moment of adjustment, the Cooperative was able to restart with a renewed entrepreneurial spirit and particular attention to the market and possible developments”.
What is your core business now?
“Cap is a multi-business company and always has been. Our activities are divided into 4 sectors: passenger transport, tourism, maintenance and real estate”.
Do you carry out subcontracted services for AT?
“We have several open relationships with Autolinee Toscane. In Florence we are sub-concessionaires of some public transport lines and we are discussing the possibility of being able to resume service quotas also in the Province of Prato. We also have a framework agreement regarding the maintenance of their bus fleet in various Tuscan provinces”.
In what ways does the tourism activity continue?
“Our tourism sector has found new momentum after the difficulties linked to Covid. 2024 promises to be a year of development of the good results seen in 2023, both for our Raffaello hotel in Florence and for our tour operator Capviaggi which has been renewed with new itineraries by bus and, above all, by plane. We have also decided to explore new opportunities, dedicating a travel line to young people under 35, it’s called https://okpartiamo.it/”.
What are the prospects in the maintenance sector? “In addition to managing the public transport bus fleet, we continue our work for large manufacturers and third-party outfitting. We have also invested resources to expand the commercial offering and, through partnership agreements with Aci Global and Autostrade , we have entered the world of roadside assistance. Cap is the reference reality on various regional road axes, such as on the stretch of the A1 from Incisa to Calenzano, on the Fi-Pi-Li to Empoli and on the Florence-Siena to Poggibonsi. We are also working with Aci to open a rescue point in the Prato area as well.”
What are Cap’s plans for the future?
“We want to continue to grow and seize the opportunities that the market will offer us. We have qualified in 5 tenders for the awarding of public transport services, also in other regions. This could bring new work and new hires to the Cooperative, continuing a trend positive which has led us to have around 70 specialized drivers in less than two years. We also look with interest at projects such as the Multiutility and make ourselves available to dialogue with all the stakeholders in our sectors”.
