Description
LaMinerva – History
1945 La Minerva di Chiodini Mario was founded by Mario Chiodini in Bologna, a city traditionally renowned for mechanical and motoring expertise. A mechanic, blacksmith, artist, and inventor, he named the company Minerva after the goddess of intelligence: as he said, “There can be no business without intelligence….”
1952 Italy slowly begins its economic recovery following the Second World War. Minerva needs new premises. Larger and more suitable headquarters are located nearby. Hand-drawn carts are used to make the move. Commercial expectations are high because the first signs of what would become the “economic miracle” are already visible.
Minerva’s reliable new products are soon recognised in Italy and abroad. The company begins exporting and attending trade shows around the world.
1960 – 1962 Rapid economic expansion changes the lives and habits of the population at all social levels. Businesses also change. The first supermarkets open, while small retailers such as butchers and delicatessens strive to improve relations with their customers. La Minerva needs new premises and new machines in order to produce more quickly and cope with the rising demand for equipment and machines for processing meat and other food. It moves to new headquarters in Via Massarenti, logistically closer to the Bologna ring road, where it stays until 2003. The company moves towards a new and constant transformation process with the purchase of modern new numerical control machine tools and the design of new types of systems. The first refrigerated mincer is created with consumers’ health in mind.
2000 – 2006 Strong entrepreneurial leadership and a market-led managerial mindset lead La Minerva to acquire and incorporate several competitors: first Artex of Bologna, then Omega, the owner of other long-standing and globally renowned brands such as CEG, General Machine, Regina, and Suprema.
Construction begins on new 5,000 m2 covered premises in Roveri, Bologna’s largest and one of Italy’s major industrial estates.
TODAY La Minerva’s acquisition of the Omega brand and associated company, specialised in manual and automatic mincers and slicers, has brought a dual-purpose process to a close: on the one hand, to save a long-standing brand with a strong presence and recognisability in Italy and abroad, and on the other to complete the range of La Minerva machines and give a renewed boost to the brand, thanks to the strong commercial links with Europe and the wider world.
