We’re sure that our pizza will always be true to us”, said Tiziano Zanuto in an interview to the business magazine “Mondo” in the 1990s. He is one of the founders and current CEO of Prodal Srl, a compa- ny that produces frozen pizza and snacks based in San Donà di Piave, in the province of Venice.
The activity was founded in 1994 when the Zanuto family, already work- ing in the fi ld of pizza making, start- ed up a new business thanks to the courage of a twenty-year-old Tiziano who made good use of the govern- mental support given to young entrepreneurs.
Time seems to have proved him right considering that today, after twen- ty-fi e years of activity, the adventure that began in a small laboratory has turned into a real business, going from about ten employees to a double shift work on two lines, with a produc- tion capacity of 100,000 pizzas per day against a few thousand in the fi st years. At the beginning of its activity, the Venetian company decided to fo- cus on the Italian market only, mainly for two reasons: on the one hand, it was necessary to gain suffici nt ex- perience to deal with the market; on the other hand, it was important to receive a positive feedback on the quality of the product.
In the wake of the excellent results achieved in Italy, Prodal decided to enter the foreign market, which was very demanding in terms of product standardization. Soon after, Prodal’s commercial success, its constant growth, and the development of its range of food products led the company to focus more and more on the exports. Intending to constantly improve and invest in process innovations, in 2011 Prodal built a new plant of around 5,000 m².
The implementation of a cutting-edge automation system has meant a sig- nificant reduction in costs as well as an improvement in quality and a drastic reduction in the number of non-compliant products, too.
Here, it is worth mentioning an inno- vative solution introduced in 2018: a brand new blast chilling and storing system, with latest-generation cool stores, able to triplicate the product storing capacity. These structural and operational improvements project the company towards the world of Indus- try 4.0.
In 2014 Prodal started a collabora- tion with Tecno Pack S.p.A. to develop a high level of technological innova- tion in its packaging department. The fruitful union between the two compa- nies has led to two great results: the innovative modifie atmosphere fl w pack packing and the heat shrink film packaging.
Since the very first meeting with An- area Motta, area manager of Tecno Pack, Prodal made it clear that they weren’t just looking for a simple supplier, but were looking forward to establishing a long-term and constructive partnership with a leading manufacturer able to provide guarantees and, above all, to be willing to grow together, with the common aim of creating advanced technology to ensure the best dress for the queen of Italian food: pizza.
This is how Tecno Pack has been pro- viding Prodal with high-performance, fl xible and effici nt systems for the past 5 years. The forthcoming de- livery of a third line is part of further success.
“The great teamwork with Tecno Pack”, says Zanuto, “has led to great results that certainly make us proud, but at the same time remind us of the great responsibility we have for our product. Respecting traditional methods and approaches must be the guiding light for our production”. Prodal’s CEO continues: “One of the primary aspects of our mission is cer- tainly the careful selection of the in- gredients and the meticulous compli- ance with national and international standards regulating the food supply chains”. In fact, Prodal complies with European and international stand- ards for both management and food safety in the production, packaging and storage, and is certifi d to ISO 22000, IFS Food and BRC Food. This aspect, together with the active par- ticipation in the main national and in- ternational trade fairs, allows Prodal to make its way in the global market, exporting its products in a lot of ter- ritories, from Tyrol to Germany, from Dublin to Amsterdam, from New York to Sydney, up to Dubai, Hong Kong and Johannesburg..
And if Tiziano Zanuto admits that he is quite happy with the work he has done so far, he nevertheless insists on not lowering his guard. “Otherwise”, he says with a smile, “I wouldn’t be true to my pizza”.
The collaboration between two large companies, both market leaders in their respective sector, could only lead to new, great success.
www.tecnopackspa.it