History of Ajinomoto-Insud Manfredonia - The History of Ajinomoto-Insud
The Christmas party atmosphere in full before leaving the office and return to our homes, we went to extend our wishes for the new year, 1977, the Company's Chairman, Professor Mario Lady. We had seen off the Japanese staff, so we thought we could not find one and stay to talk a bit 'longer and peacefully. Instead we found him in the company's new plant manager, Dr. Cappuccio, sitting in front of him, but the president waved us into the same and stood up, by coming to meet with an outstretched hand.
At other times, we would be flattered by this kindness and courtesy, but do not know why, I was almost upset and confused. Luckily, my colleague Tavano was more polished than me, and after greetings and pleasantries, asked him if he wanted the next day morning, that someone other than the driver, went into the car with him.
- "No, no! No need! There are only two hours by car! And then .. "- and she turned to dr. Hood, meanwhile, had risen and was coming out: - "To distract me reread these papers, oh my God, I still do not play so well .... '-
Tavano stretched his speech, saying it would do him great pleasure accompany him and take this opportunity to extend best wishes for a good year even the President's brother, the Archbishop of Pompeii, the destination of the trip just dell'indomani morning. Meanwhile, the new factory manager, Hood, bowed out, leaving us alone with the President that in the meantime, the situation turned phrases, but also mumbling something incomprehensible and ending in Milan, so I thought, with an expression of a Neapolitan accent.
Was it because my dislike of Mr. Hood, but I convinced myself that those were the President swearing at him, as, standing up and by coming meeting, wanted to lay his neighbor across that, in fact, had gone out:
- "Everything is quiet, right?" - asked the President.
I thought the question was addressed to the Head of Personnel, Dr. Tavano precisely that hastened to reply in the affirmative and reassuring manner. Since, however, ask the question, the President looked alternately me too, I asked timidly: - "In that sense, I'm sorry?" - Reminding me that I had addressed the same question a couple of weeks before, Mr. Cipriani, formerly Chief the company until a few months ago, while I formulated its wishes for the upcoming Christmas.
And the President: - "Well, our friends unionists, always ready to jump up at every rustling leaf, in a similar situation if they are calm and quiet? Maybe you did not ... .. do not understand what's going on! "- And dismissed us, saying n'avremmo discussed that the next time.
way home in the car together and I Tavano, we asked the meaning of what we heard and what he wanted to tell us with those words, what he meant by "what's going on," concluding that, whatever it was, not In any case, arguments were reassuring for our future.
In my position as administration manager, with Tavano chief of staff, together with the Chemist, Head of Production, a stranger, and in those days absent for holidays, we were, the fact we had been to a couple of months earlier, ie before the return hood of the new plant manager, the Italians with the office more High in the company organization, and the two of us, the only natives.
society.
The joint stock company, established in Manfredonia, was founded at the end of 1963 and was named Ajinomoto-INSUD still, though now at the end of 1976, INSUD not made anymore, having sold the 50% of its property, in part to the same Ajinomoto in Japan and in part to the Deutsche Ajinomoto established in Hamburg.
At the time of the foundation, in the sixties, there were few contacts with the Western world that the Japanese were supposed to be only good at "copying" and "redo" all Western products and, with them, they were invading the North American market. In Europe, things were the most famous Japanese small transistor radios to croaking that began to bring the stadium, and Honda motorcycles. Ajinomoto
The Japanese had a large chemical industrial and financial giant, a true multinational company with operations throughout the Far East before World War II, he also had a plant in California (USA), which, however, was the first requirement by the U.S. government and then closed when, with U.S. personnel were not able to produce anything.
had in any way a history of over one hundred industrial years and the meaning of his name, Aji-no-moto, made just three terms, was the "essence of taste" or, if read in the other direction, Western, was "essence of taste". Graduates in chemistry
latest informs me that, of 36 amino acids known at the time and isolated in the laboratory, on as many as 24 patents owned industrial Ajinomoto. Always the same technique, I explained to her that the amino acids were the basis of all modern drugs, that drug companies were studying all of the most popular applications, and the discoveries were continuous and amazing.
But for amino acids also opened a large market for food and, above all, the diet that was beginning to assert itself, even if at the time was for the "snob" and, as far as sweeteners for diabetics.
When the Japanese decided to expand in the West founded the Deutsche Ajinomoto in Hamburg, with the aim of studying the European market and, simultaneously, to offer their products.
The largest German pharmaceutical and chemical industries did not trust the Japanese because these, when you had to offer joint-venture partnerships or ask for self-preservation were presented with nothing, except the usual explanatory brochures and trade. France, foreign investors, allowed a 49% ownership. Britain had a chemical giant, for its part, tried to penetrate the Japanese market and already had evidently collided with our Japanese friends.
The only Italian chemical giant was the ANIC, but at the time, I regret to say, had just died, Eng. Enrico Mattei, and there were wise and experienced leaders, and perhaps, as always happened to me later, really thought, in consonance with the name, the type Ajinomoto Honda motorcycles produced. And, in fact, the Japanese sent to IRI, of course, assured her that was not interested. Someone Ministry of State Holdings, fortunately, did not want to miss the chance and sent the Japanese to the new entity recently established, EFIM.
President of EFIM was the lawyer. Pietro Sette, Bari and the Moro faithful, who received just the Japanese, flanked by another Bari, Eng-Musaio Somma, President of several companies and on the other INSUD Group. They must have had flair, have been dazzled by the visit to Japan at the headquarters of Ajinomoto, anything short will have you convinced than others "boyars" of the PS, because it was immediately agreed to build a new factory for the production of monosodium glutamate in Puglia and, more specifically, in the electoral college of Moro, with equal participation of INSUD.
really thought of putting it in the industrial area of \u200b\u200bBari, where, according to the schedules of EFIM, were set up new chemical and, above all, it was building Breda, the Center for Research in Pure and Applied Chemistry and pharmaceuticals, but the Japanese, with their friendly and unwavering kindness, chose, always in every way in the College of Moro, the virgin land of Manfredonia, of course, for one, for them, good reason: they wanted to keep it away from prying eyes or curious more or less disinterested.
remained something, however, the land of Bari, because all Japanese know the word "sciamanìnn (s)" means only that in the dialect of Bari "let's go", but is also used to mean "go ahead! Let's start! "And, apparently, was the last word uttered by Eng. Musaio-sum at the end of the negotiation and, as such, worthy of going down in history.
They had meaning and understanding with this as a word of Italian, even if the wrong accent and said "shamans", but used it at the end of a meeting, as a business card with the Italians to make nice, just that now I could understand, Puglia, but not our northern chemicals, which they joke about it, having even played in Japan and it happens only after many difficulties due to the presence among them of a parent-Bari origins.
Preliminaries
pacts para-social life of the new company expects that the technical and production was the exclusive field of the Japanese who had the knowledge and, above all, it held the patent for industrial manage and secure , covering it very jealously.
Our graduates in chemistry, all people of quality, highly trained and experienced, they told me that in Japan, were able to ascertain that the protection the trade secret and patent issues took on even manic and paranoid, especially when viewed with our Western mentality.
The product chosen to put one foot in the West was in fact the MSG obtained organically from the fermentation of beet molasses, and that glutamate was present, and commonly used in the kitchens on the tables and East for over a hundred years.
All food and food substances generally contain glutamic acid in the form of glutamine, substances that are "typical" of each food that determine the flavor and vitamin content. MSG is a sodium salt glutamic acid which, when added to food, it melts immediately "free" glutamic acid because it "attracted" to say, from those typical of glutamine and its the same food, with which it appears to increase the flavor and nutritional value remains " free "sodium, but since this is in all foods or we add sodium chloride or table salt, is this with his" cousin "natural.
After each explanation, by any person who was, of course, expert in the field, all ended.
- "In any case it is good for the brain. No! It's not that makes it more intelligent or more stupid! And 'that reinforces the cerebral cortex. This means that prevents or makes more difficult the degeneration of tissues in the cerebral cortex, for any cause or accident, "- Periodically, over some magazine articles that appeared to be preached on the harmful effects of glutamate, known as" additive "food," discovered "by analyzing food which had been added.
Chemists I explained that it was almost impossible to detect glutamate when added to a food in the right dose, for the simple reason that the compound, not an "additive" but simply an "exciting" flavor, and soon vanished, with hot foods, in a moment, and left no trace except in an increase of glutamine and thus nutrient own food, in practice, it was like saying that "this food is more nutritious and tasty than normal, then there must have been added glutamate.
The food additive, however, was often used by the food industry was the "sodium cyclamate, a synthetic chemical that is produced in the laboratory and then, of which at the time was not yet evaluated the toxicity, but it was completely different, completely different, and then was strictly forbidden.
Glutamate is calculated as a natural process which "Fermentation", the same age-old process by which turns the grapes into wine, caused by bacteria known fact contained in the skin or stalks. The secret of the Japanese was just that "bacteria" used for the fermentation of molasses and secret was its composition and its nature.
Simply put, this bacterium, placed in molasses sugar, with just the right temperature and studied, and dosed with the addition of compressed air, the absorption and ate it, reproducing down to "consume" all the nutrient , transforming it into a completely different substance, until the mixture come to a desired saturation, was stop the fermentation and, through various stages and with suitable chemicals, the product obtained is purified and crystallized as a salt which was then bagged and packaged.
I was the unwitting witness the arrival in Italy, in Rome, the first strain of bacteria, brought as accompanied luggage "in an insulated bag to travel from one director to visit the new Japanese plant nearing completion. The arrival in Rome of this administrator's parent company, created great excitement among the Japanese, since the days before his arrival, requiring the presence of chemicals already transferred to Manfredonia.
And indeed, the import of live bacteria had to be strictly forbidden, or at least, before accepting the entry into Italy, had to be examined and assessed the dangers posed: just what the Japanese wanted to avoid. In truth the background of this input the sensed rather than heard, the sound of laughter and raised in Japan when the few present at the administrator's account, for reasons of rank, the reference to the other. In short, had "cracked" the Italian customs officers by stating that it was diet food which, given his advanced age, could not completely quit during his brief stay in Italy.
The factory Instead, the bacteria were kept in a special sterile room built in the factory and laboratory, in this sterile room, nobody was allowed to enter unless a couple of chemists in Japan. The room had four sterile walls of glass. As soon as we entered the chemist, the first gesture was to lower the blinds to not show what he was doing outside.
Returning to the story of para-social agreements, after the exclusive part of the technical production of the factory, in some respects, was understandable, the other exclusive jurisdiction of the Japanese was the commercial side, sales. This, too, in a sense, could be considered understandable knowing that the Japanese knew all of the glutamate market in Europe.
from Hamburg, via a real service of industrial espionage in Europe, knew the quantities produced by other producers, the quantities sold to major customers, and even the amount that would have produced the country's annual sugar beet.
In fact, the leading European producers of sugar who were the same, however, glutamate obtained from the leftovers of sugar production, but glutamate was a poor quality and low performance, while 50% pure, that of our factory was 99 +% pure, high-performance, which meant a use of lower doses and with more results.
But before we, as unclean was the only known and used by large food manufacturers to produce, in essence, the stock cube or for the few, very few indeed, "ready meals" pre-cooked offered at the time.
With the use of glutamate Manfredonia, the largest manufacturers of stock cubes changed their advertising, now small and smelly stock cube was used and recommended for "seasoning" roast and other dishes cooked by good cook: it is the nut that "flavor" of food but the glutamate content in the nut, in fact, the pack it began to write "" on the basis of monosodium glutamate ".
Some factory in northern Italy, with a bold and aggressive sales policy, began to increase the range of their productions, especially if intended for food service and catering, introducing the main courses cooked and packaged, flavored and enhanced in own flavor by glutamate.
In truth, the main problem in the manufacture of ready meals was the use of appropriate chemical additives intended to preserve and stabilize the mixture, additives, however, reduced or altered the taste of food: the addition of monosodium glutamate allowed just to enhance the flavor of the product, despite the presence of chemical additives.
The first establishment of our major clients were the Star and Knorr, who were convinced, however, only after long and persistent negotiations and trials. But the loss of these two major customers, we created enemies among the other manufacturers who then, as demonstrated below, the Judiciary, although other issues, have a true "sign", also in Europe, handling everything the sugar market, from beets to the finished product, and were, in Italy, the famous "three-M", ie the group Monte, Montesi and the Maraldi, which together accounted for about 85 percent of the Italian sugar market.
But the market for sugar beet molasses and we will talk about that later. Returning to the para-social pacts, the only aspect of Italian exclusivity, and thus of INSUD, were responsible for accounting, administrative, this is because our administrators can control the illusion of life through economic control of corporate management. But more about that later.
Prof. Madam President. After
Musaio-Sum, was, as President, Prof. Mario Lady, who, I seem to recall, was lecturer in industrial chemistry, however was a Resistance fighter and, as such, a personal friend of Eng. Mattei's ENI and put him to the presidency of various group companies. Later, with the passage of Terni EFIM Chemistry, also became part of this last group, in addition to being President and Director in various other companies scattered throughout Campania and north Italy.
With great charisma and innate sympathy, as well as industry expertise, immediately entered the hearts of the Company's employees and trade unionists, and not exclude direct contact with the same union and the workers, but always with due respect for respective roles, that under of its refinement, in name and fact.
He called himself a champion and supporter of the Italians in the south, he Lombard true, often saying that we were smarter than us Southerners and Northerners of awake, there were only the opportunities and occasions. In this respect, we could not agree with him, kicking and elbowing us that we had to rise to the highest step in the company organization, always ready to listen and Rivera, however, without servility or licking that he hated.
So if, at that end of the year 1976, the President complained that we did not understand anything about the corporate situation, if you wondered how our trade unionists had been made continue to protest, or otherwise, to make their presence felt, meant that, according to his vision of the thing, and that adverse events approached, however, were expected dark time for our company and its employees.
The most recent incident occurred in the life of the company was leaving the corporate structure of INSUD, and so consequently, the output of the Company from the State Holdings to become in effect a private company to complete foreign capital. In truth, the Internal Committee of the union had been informed of this movement but was also reassured that, for employees, no would change. After the release of
INSUD in October of 1976, they returned to Manfredonia two former employees laid off years before, namely a former Managing Director, the Rag. Fraser, former Head of Purchasing, Mr. Hood.
The Rag. Fraser was presented as a management consultant with the Company's place of work at our sales office in Milan, this, obviously, not to create or not to bring out better for me that I was friction with the chief executive officer at the factory and the other clerks while Dr. Hood was introduced as the new Director of the Italian establishment, which parallels the previous Chief Japanese, however, retained only the delegation of signature corporate and legal representation.
In conclusion, this New Year of 1976-1977 was not the most peaceful for me and my colleague Tavano.
The INSUD
EFIM The third was the state organization for "as the acronym, the financing of the manufacturing industries. In truth, while IRI predominated DC, the PSI and the PRI to ENI, the EFIM was to be the stronghold of the Social Democrats, to reconstruct the four-party power.
He worked mainly at the beginning to "save" the political will for those industries now "Ailing" scattered "rain" a bit 'all over Italy, who were not able to either ENI or IRI. In fact, his first "gift" was the acquisition of the Company for the extraction and exploitation of aluminum from Sardinia, an outstanding company with a significant number of employees and spent much historical significance: it amounted to a good budget initial for the new body.
To the north, the main and most important undertaking was the EFIM Breda which was broken up, the more economically viable activities were incorporated IRA (such as firearms and Breda Oto Melara), because additional other activities of the group, all others (eg. Fucine Breda train) were noted by the Financial Ernesto Breda managed and controlled, along with other food industries, mechanical, textile and other business was, in turn, properties of EFIM.
the center Italy, in the "wallet" EFIM, then there was the Terni Industrie Chimiche, already abandoned by ENI, but powerfully knocked the Terni steel industry, industrial and financial crisis, which would be the natural destination IRI group had more steel in the portfolio, but who obviously had his reasons for refusing it. To the south there
INSUD already a financial participation Isveimer the institution of the "famous" Case for the South. The EFIM entered as a minority shareholder of INSUD but, little by little, by dint of cover the losses, it became the main shareholder and manager.
INSUD This, in addition to financing new industrial ventures, had also "in the portfolio" property of a plethora of small and medium industries located in the Mezzogiorno, all well and funded largely by the "Cashier" el'ISVEIMER but then, not to see them bankrupt, were acquired and restored, even financially, and then offered on the market to other local investors more or less, when there were.
The Directors of our Company was a matter of INSUD EFIM and that it reserved the selection and appointment of a Managing Director and also had its own officials in the Board of Auditors. I think I did rather a good impression to the mayors of the company when they came to one of the usual ritual visits, and wanted to check the box and the values \u200b\u200bas required and prescribed by the Italian Civil Code.
Although young, I was not entirely a novice, having also had experience working in my previous visits of mayors, even though they were small local cooperatives, yet I was fully aware of the functions of the Board. However, I was irreverent, like all young people, and made me laugh a lot excitement of my first Chief Accountant of the visit, and his nervousness when the President of Mayors would be alone with me to check the amounts of cash.
The visit went well and received moderate praise from the President of Mayors, dr. Anthony Zurzolo. Only after I realized and understood the nervousness of the Chief Accountant, when I learned that Dr. Zurzolo was the Director General of EFIM.
The first Managing Director, what I assumed, proved useful for relations with the town of Manfredonia and all other institutions necessary for a number of permits for construction, but with little operational experience in the factory.
It was then immediately called at the headquarters of EFIM to continue the work for other companies and was replaced by Chief Operating Officer, expert accounting and administration of the factory but, more importantly, good management of human resources. In his first year of work in Manfredonia, director taught this young and cute, we all administrative, how to work as a team, identification of business purposes, modern detection systems of expenditure and cost containment.
We lived at a critical moment in the management of labor relations between 1967 and 1969, he taught us that, in its dealings with employees, you would first all to be honest and strict, but not arrogant. He managed to convince the Japanese to recognize the employees and workers with the categories and wage levels under the employment contract. Unfortunately, this
Director, Dr. Roberto Italy, Roman, after a couple of years, viral hepatitis and was taken outside the factory for more than six months, without, however, that the work in the office I was suffering, because now the "team" was ready to work and formed. In any case, after recovery, he was a few months and was immediately attracted to other larger companies, leaving a deep regret for his talent and his innate sympathy.
was replaced by Rag. Fraser, another expert administrative, almost sixty, who remained for a longer time but, after the dismissal, he returned as a "consultant" in 1976 that "fateful." Between '73 and '74, the Rag. Fraser was replaced by Dr. Cipriani, for his experience, also joined the Board of Directors representing precisely INSUD shareholder, but it deserves a separate chapter.
Courtesy of Rag. Michele Brunetti
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