Gorgonzola world record thanks to Industry 4.0 and acquisitions

Article by Matteo Donelli

Gorgonzola is a showcase of Italian excellence in the world.

Igor Gorgonzola since 1935 (year of foundation) has been working tirelessly to raise the quality of this Italian gastronomic excellence, thus guaranteeing customers from all over the world a unique culinary experience.

Gorgonzola is increasingly in demand on the Italian tables of great restaurants but also and above all of the "housewife" of Shanghai, Sidney or New York.

The Internet has been a very strong channel of knowledge for fans of top Italian specialties. Hundreds of videos of great chefs tell and tell historical but also innovative recipes with gorgonzola.

The popularity of this historic Italian cheese with relative incremental demand for orders from every corner of the world has led to a strong modernization of the sector.

Two key factors that have made the Igor company a leader in the sector for turnover and a point of excellence in production, namely the introduction of Industry 4.0 and an expansionary policy through strategic acquisitions.

In 1996, the headquarters were moved to Cameri, in the province of Novara, to a factory equipped with an innovative production plant that allows the production of more than 4 thousand wheels per day.

During the course of its history, Igor has become a strong entrepreneurial group by acquiring two historic artisan dairies, Pal and Clin and a company, Ballarini, which takes care of the maturing phase.

Igor has not only focused on corporate acquisitions, but has also invested in the expansion of its headquarters, which, following 5 extensions, today occupies a production area of 50 thousand square meters.

A new production plant was also installed under the banner of Industry 4.0.

Thanks to the new technology, the machines communicate remotely with producers who are also able to recognize the type of milk arriving from 180 farms (between Piedmont and Lombardy). The machines analyze the characteristics of the product that will be used in the most correct way according to the destination. The machines, all connected, are also able to quickly reparameter themselves to modify the recipes to be started in production, thus improving productivity, ductility and precision to obtain premium quality.

The company founded by Natale Leonardi in Mezzomerico (a small town in the province of Novara) is now in its third generation whose family manages and remains in command of the company.

It was just right Fabio Leonardi (CEO) to recently announce the important acquisition of Si Invernizzi. 

An operation strongly desired by the two families Leonardi and Invernizzi at the helm of two companies with over 100 years of history each and with a passion for Gorgonzola. 

Today Igor produces Gorgonzola with two automatic industrial plants in Cameri and two artisanal 3.000-liter multipurpose machines, Pal in Valsesia and Clin in Cameriano. With the acquisition of Si Invernizzi we are adding an artisanal process with a 700-liter boiler with delicate curd extraction, unique in the sector. 

Manuele Crupi, Legal & Marketing Manager, underlines another market factor that the company has been able to grasp before the competition from the market, becoming the undisputed precursor "Modern consumers are looking for more and more healthy and genuine products but without neglecting goodness".

“Hence the decision to offer the market a organic gorgonzola, Bioagricert certified. Another great success came with the product "Blu di capra Igor", a blue cheese, made with the same production method as gorgonzola, but with 100% Italian goat's milk. Furthermore, all our Gorgonzola is certified NATURALLY LACTOSE-FREE BY AILI (ITALIAN MILK-INTOLERANT ASSOCIATION) ".

Crupi emphasizes: "We have also started a SUSTAINABILITY project with several objectives already achieved, such as the ISO 50001 certification on energy efficiency and the ANIMAL WELLNESS IN BREEDING certification, and many to achieve: we are working on a totally compostable packaging with the slogan SAVE I MARI "