Our Story – Automatic Machines for Cleaning and Turning Cheeses Our Story – Automatic Machines for Cleaning and Turning Cheeses
Breaking Tradition: Our Story, Part I
Our story, from its founding to its subsequent development, vividly shows that industry isn’t just an economic dimension but a fundamental aspect of human reality.
Renato Ferretti, followed by the Bettini family, transformed our company into an Italian excellence and a benchmark in the cheese automation sector.
Their entrepreneurial vision demonstrated that business is a social and cultural phenomenon that goes far beyond the pursuit of profit.
Respect and love for tradition, combined with a passion for innovation and a deep connection to our territory, have guided us for over 50 years, providing timely and effective solutions to our customers’ needs.
Today, we want to share with you the first chapter of our journey.
1967, a Turning Point
1967 marks a pivotal year, incredibly complex and crucial from a historical, political, and economic perspective.
A wave of social and cultural changes sweeps through both Italy and the world, impacting the industrial system as well.
In this context of instability and transformation, Renato Ferretti, fresh from his Mechanical Engineering studies at the Polytechnic University of Milan, perceives the new opportunities emerging for companies.
It is the dawn of an era of technological progress, with increasingly advanced machinery being introduced in industrial settings to perform hazardous operations and solve health-risking tasks for workers.
Renato Ferretti decides to stay in Milan and begins working at Montedison, where he is hired as an Engineer.
His first professional experience, coinciding with a period of profound transformation, dramatic challenges, and new opportunities, also aligns with the time of the liberalization and proliferation of radio, television networks, vinyl records (45s and 33s), and especially the “Juke-Box.”
It All Started with a Juke Box
Heir to the early 1920s automatic pianos, the Juke Box burst into the post-war era as a tribute to music and fun.
A generation eager for joy and entertainment embraced it enthusiastically, making it the star of bars and gathering places.
But how did this magical machine work?
By simply inserting a coin, customers could select their favorite songs from a wide collection of records.
A mechanical arm would activate, ascending the stack to reach and retrieve the chosen record.
The record was then placed on a turntable, playing the music flawlessly.
A clever system tracked selections and organized them, ensuring a smooth listening experience.
At the end of the song, the selection arm returned to its initial position, ready for the next choice.
It was the allure of the Juke Box that inspired Renato Ferretti’s first invention: the P.R.A. (Automatic Form Cleaner Turner).
Unlike music-playing devices, Renato’s machine didn’t accept coins or store records.
Its goal was far more ambitious: to revolutionize the tedious maintenance of cheese wheels.
But why don’t you create automatic machines for cleaning and turning cheese?
Renato Ferretti decided to return to his hometown, Quattro Castella, to answer a local cheesemaker’s question: “Why don’t you create a machine to automate our warehouse work?”
At that time, cheese cleaning was done manually, requiring significant effort and posing health risks for workers.
This exhausting task involved eight-hour shifts during which cheese wheels were loaded and unloaded in aging warehouses for at least 12 months.
In the early 1970s, Renato, along with his father Sincero, a “natural mechanical talent and inventor,” began experimenting with the first prototypes of the Automatic Cleaning and Turning Machine.
Hard cheese wheels are heavy, weighing about forty kilograms, making the periodic turning and brushing physically demanding.
Renato Ferretti’s machines eliminated this effort, with the first models created in October 1972.
The company was formally inaugurated on January 25, 1973.
In 1985, the C.S.F. ING. FERRETTI machine for loading and unloading cheese wheels was developed, followed by B.E. ING. FERRETTI, specialized lifting tables for the cheese industry.
Over forty years, Renato dedicated himself entirely to consolidating and developing his business.
He sold 773 Automatic Cleaning and Turning Machines, averaging nearly twenty machines per year.
These extraordinary results were achieved through absolute dedication.
For those pursuing their dreams, facing new challenges and difficulties is ultimately a pleasure: “Loving your work (a privilege few have) is the best approximation to happiness on Earth.”
