Packaging new pillar of San Marino

Small, with its 61 square kilometres of territory and less than 34,000 inhabitants, but more dynamic and industrialised than the Adriatic coast in which it is embedded, and attentive to attracting productive investments, especially from the rich regions along the Po River. This is the Republic of San Marino, which after the metamorphosis of 2008 - when banking secrecy was lifted - is moving from an economy dependent on finance to a cradle of diversified industries and start-ups, attracting highly innovative activities such as digital services, blockchain, and gaming. But it is the packaging industry that now emerges as a mainstay of manufacturing and resilience in the Titan, historically known more for the wood and design industry, building materials, supplements or cosmetics.

The cluster of packaging companies in San Marino - 25 companies generating a total turnover of €360 million and employing around 1,100 workers - represents 'a strategic sector for the economy of our republic, which has been able to transform itself into a pole of excellence thanks to a combination of technological innovation, competitive operating costs, incentivising tax policies and a strong orientation towards internationalisation,' stresses the director general of the Agency for Economic Development-Chamber of Commerce, Denis Cecchetti. A geographic enclave, led by three leading companies - SIT Group, Robopac and Gruppo ASA - that draws "great advantage from the quality of services, streamlined bureaucracy and a safe environment here in San Marino," adds the CEO, who on 15 November will meet in Bologna, together with the Secretaries of State, Italian entrepreneurs, investors and professionals to exploit the opportunities and synergies that can be created in the interplay between the two countries.

Synergies that are evident when it comes to packaging machinery, a sector in which Made in Italy - with almost 600 manufacturers, concentrated in Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy and Piedmont, and a turnover of 9.2 billion euro, 80% of which is exported - is the undisputed world leader. SIT Group is an international benchmark for eco-friendly flexible packaging. Founded in the 1960s as a small family business, it has become a multinational with five plants, 800 employees, a turnover of over 235 million euro and a customer portfolio with names such as Ferrero, Barilla, Mars, Nestlé, Kraft, Lindt, Loacker, Galbusera and Colussi. The parent company has always been based in San Marino, where the second generation of the Rossini family has developed an Innovation Centre dedicated to R&D of innovative and sustainable solutions.

Another historical name in the industry is the ASA Group. Founded in 1961 and today in the hands of the third generation of the Amati family, it is the European leader in the metal packaging segment for the food and chemical sectors and in safety packaging. The headquarters are on Mount Titano, where there are the head offices and the production of semi-finished products according to a "hub & spokes" development model, while the activities are divided between seven plants in Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (550 employees) with a thousand customers spread over thirty countries and a turnover of around 150 million euro, more than half of which is achieved outside the Italian borders.

The other San Marino 'giant' is Robopac, part of the Aureli family's Aetna group (400 million euro in total turnover, 10 plants and 2,000 professionals around the world), a leader in wrapping and palletising systems that integrate 4.0 technologies into production processes. The group's first business unit, Robopac Machinery, was established in 1984 in the small Republic, where stretch film wrapping solutions were born and where today 12 thousand machines a year are produced, 90% exported worldwide. Alongside the big names in packaging, start-ups such as Plus4 are also beginning to grow: 'We are eco-specialists, we deal with technology and science transfer to accompany the transition towards sustainable packaging, from design and choice of materials to process optimisation and communication,' explains CEO Marco Scatto.