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 The
province of Modena has always been characterised by a flourishing
agriculture. With such strong roots the area has developed, and
become one of the most important centres of the Italian food industry,
boasting famous products at a worldwide level: balsamic vinegar,
"Lambrusco", "Parmigiano Reggiano", "Prosciutto
di Modena", and typical sausages (zampone, coppa, salame,
mortadella...) and conserves.
The obtained results stem from the fact that the producers of
the area have been able to reach a level of industrial organisation
that defends the quality and care of product processing, all added
to a good consumer image.
In the last few years there have been many important strategic
decisions, especially regarding meat processing (pig and cattle
meat) and conserves, aimed at developing the sector. These decisions
have also created big industrial groups on a European level, most
of them in the form of co-operatives.
Besides these industrial realities there are small and medium
businesses, whose solidity is connected with the technological
features of the processing procedure of finished products. In
fact they are companies that work in market areas, where great
economies of scale don't usually exist, for example in the production
of cheese like parmesan, that is areas characterised by third
parties behalf (especially in the production of sausages). In
this case, approaching suppliers with a high specialisation in
some processing element's, represents a strategy for reducing
costs or for expanding the range of the offer.
Today the food industry accounts for about 1,400 factories and
11,500 employees. The turnover is around 3.9 billion Euro, of
which 12% comes from foreign markets.
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