Officine Facco has acquired Sperotto, offering opportunities for the new entity to explore synergies on international markets.
The two companies have much in common: both are long-established suppliers of equipment to the poultry industry, with a solid reputation, strong commitment to R&D, and they are based in the northeast Italian region of Veneto.
With the acquisition of Sperotto SpA (Sperotto), Officine Facco SpA (Facco) sees potential synergies for further exploring international markets.
For Elise Finco, vice president of Facco, the two companies are a good match.
“In Sperotto, we have found a complementary company, a leader in the broiler sector and, moreover, as strong in turnkey project as Facco is for eggs,” she said.
Founded 60 years ago, Sperotto has evolved into a specialist in turnkey floor systems for livestock and poultry, particularly meat chickens. As well as design and manufacture of this equipment, it is based in Sandrigo, and carries out its own testing in close cooperation with customers.
Around the same time, Officine Facco started its business. Now based in Campo San Martino, its workforce of 600 operated in more than 70 countries around the world from 10 branches, offering a range of modern poultry housing systems.
With markets becoming increasingly complex, president of Sperotto, Renato Sperotto sees advantages in combining expertise and technology.
“As Italian leaders in the conception and creation of turnkey projects for livestock, we think that this acquisition will open up new prospects for us in international markets,” he said.
President of Facco Massimo Finco summarized the benefits of the acquisition for both partners.
“This acquisition consolidates the group strategy, adding Sperotto to Facco, Flexy and the Brazilian Artabas, which develop their business in a synergistic way but each with its own autonomy, adding value and expanding the potential for a widespread penetration in all markets.”
Turnover of the new entity is expected to be more than EUR200 million (US$212 million).
Due diligence processes on the acquisition have been completed. No changes at Sperotto are foreseen in terms of management, staffing or headquarters location.
Italian poultry industry in perspective
National egg production (including table and hatching eggs) amounted to 785,000 metric tons in 2022. This put Italy in fourth position in the rankings of European Union (EU) egg producers, according to the European Commission’s DG-AGRI, equivalent to a 12% market share.
With 40.5 million hens, Italy was home to the fifth largest flock in the region. Of this population, just over half (55%) were kept in barns/aviaries, 36% in enriched cages, and the balance equally divided between free-range and organic systems.
In 2022, Italy was also the EU’s fifth largest producer of poultry meat. At 1.21 million metric tons, the nation produced 9% on the regional total.
Last week, it was announced that Italy’s second largest poultry company Amadori had acquired a majority stake in poultry meat product specialist Forno d’Oro.
With annual slaughterings of 350 million birds, Gruppo Veronesi is the largest poultry meat company in Italy, according to WATTPoultry.com’s Top Poultry Companies survey. The firm holds joint sixth position in the region in terms of output, which includes chicken and turkey meats as well as table eggs and egg products.
