Workers Buying a Company

WORKERS WHO BUY COMPANIES

This isn't the first story of this kind, and it certainly won't be the last. In every Italian region, faced with a crisis—a Great Crisis—that never ceases to bite and hit the most vulnerable, we have many workers, executives, and managers who, instead of feeling sorry for themselves, are inventing anything just to take over the company themselves, take a risk, and start from scratch.

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GAZZOTTI CASTELMAGGIORE

An episode of this kind has just occurred in Castelmaggiore , in the province of Bologna. Here, since 1910, Gazzotti has been considered a manufacturer of excellence in Made in Italy , a highly successful and innovative format. Its products, parquet and related products, have been sold worldwide, with a turnover exceeding 24 million euros and stellar profit margins.

Then came the Great Crisis . Perhaps some errors of judgment were made in the management of the company, perhaps it wasn't clear from the start how dire the situation was, the fact remains that Gazzotti was mired in its problems until bankruptcy . This caused enormous damage not only to the families of the workers and all the employees, but also to the local area, where the company had always been a point of reference in terms of employment and well-being.

Once it hit the Great Depression, with annual revenues plummeting to €4 million, Gazzotti was bound to find itself bankrupt. With the usual bloodbath that follows such situations.

WORKERS WHO BECOME ENTREPRENEURS

After some time, the company finally went to auction and was awarded a price of €1.75 million , including its facilities. But who bought it? Here's the surprise: the winning bidders were the company's managers and workers , who formed a cooperative . And where did they find the money? Those who could even put their savings on the table, but at the urging of the union and local authorities, Legacoop guaranteed a bank loan that helped unblock the situation. Now Gazzotti is starting over under the ownership of 18 managers and a group of workers. It's starting over and returning to the market to regain its position and restore its role to the area. Andrea Signoretti , Gazzotti's operations director since 1991 and now at the helm of the consortium that acquired the company, says : "This is a gamble we had to make. This is a company that has always been successful on the market, and sooner or later the market must recover. Mistakes were also made, which we will try to correct. But what matters is that today Gazzotti is more vibrant than ever, and playing its game."

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EMPLOYEES BUYING A COMPANY IN CRISIS

The workers, managers, and executives who risk their lives to acquire companies where they once worked—businesses that later went bankrupt or are on the verge of bankruptcy—deserve great attention. They are the new heroes of labor , at a time when work has become so precarious for thousands upon thousands of people. They are like the artisans, workers, and small business owners who, during the economic boom years, threw down the gauntlet and shaped the country's economic and social history. They are the protagonists of a new economic miracle , certainly not one of attack and growth like that of the 1950s and 1960s, but of defense (first and foremost of jobs) like in this period. And therefore even more worthy of admiration.

( In the cover image, the 18 former employees of the company in bankruptcy liquidation who purchased the business – Source: Il Resto del Carlino )

STORIES OF COURAGEOUS WORKERS AND ENTREPRENEURS

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