INTRODUCTION

Cooperativa Nuovo Orizzonte was established in 1988 years ago to produce seed wheat for local farmers. Then Vallolmo Ltd was set up in order to market the local wheat and later processi t into pasta factory. The last business branch in the group is Molinoro (est. 2020) which Tommaso Miceli CEO gave the goal to mill the wheat and, thus, complete the supply chain.

Tommaso believes there are three reasons wht Valledolmo is more business-vibrant than the neighbouirng towns:

• it is historically a dynamic community;


• the entrepreneurial fabric is stimulated by the distance from the major centres;


• the population is not obsessed by public employment prospects as elsewhere.

What happened 32 years ago when Tommaso’s father and uncle started the cooperative is repeating itself although marketing and the fiscal and financial situation have changed dramatically

SUSTAINABILITY

Social sustainability is fostered by encouraging an expanded family atmosphere, by way of inclusive best practices, encouraging independence for the company is not only the management’s own, but the collaborators’ too.

Environmental sustainability is one of the key elements because the completing the supply chain has led to its protection keeping every process within the same area, enhancing yield quality and zeiroing carbon emissions as transport is reduced to a the very minimum.

Economically, the group champions locality which values ​​local external farmers as both key resources and co-beneficiaries.

TRADITION AND INNOVATION

“Our group is traditional in the sense of the process features coming from the past: bronze pasta spinning and slow drying while stone milling which preserves the organoleptic properties of the wheat. On the other hand, technologically innovation is present in the form of industry 4.0 devices in all plants (PLC systems, digital panels and remote control systems)” Tommaso claims.

VALUES AND DISCIPLINARIES

The prime value of the group is the pursuit of social, economic and environmental development of the landed assets and the resources they bear. No regulatory body or certification exists  for cereals. The company practices organic agricolture and has joined the Sicily Guaranteed and Quality protocol initiated by the regional department for food.

SCALABILITY AND RESILIENCE

“We hope to reply if someone wishes to support the development of our local area in a way that is beneficial to those that live here. Scalability depends on market response, but we aim to have quality economic development.”

On resilience: “one needs to be deeply rooted in your own land, otherwise the first and last option is to flee emigration. This rootedness is the pre-condition for one to stop thinking about manufacturing something metaphorically on it. The last thing necessary, even if it may seem strange, is to have a pinch of unconsciousness. If you have these three things, then you can start a business in fear of crisis or resist a crisis, if the company was started earlier.