Pastificio Rana, a fresh pasta and sauces maker, has secured a development agreement valued at around €10m ($10.8m) with the Italian Ministry of Business and Made in Italy. The funding includes €9.6m of “non-repayable benefits” and an additional €350,000 from the Piedmont region. This investment will be added to the company’s existing €78m package, earmarked for its factories in the Piedmont, Lombardy, and Veneto regions between 2022 and 2025.
Managed by the Italian Development Agency, Invitalia, the fund aims to increase the group’s overall production capacity through an industrial development program. In addition, Rana plans to relocate its ready meals production from Nivelles in Belgium to its Moretta factory in Piedmont, following its acquisition of Nestlé’s Buitoni pasta plant in 2018.
Furthermore, the company will expand its facilities in Gaggiano in Milan and San Giovanni Lupatoto in Veneto. The Nivelles plant will remain operational, focusing exclusively on private-label goods. The ministry reported that Rana currently employs 1,600 people in Italy, and this number could increase by an additional 96 individuals.
Rana has doubled its total workforce over the past decade, with over 3,000 employees. The ministry also seeks to assist Rana in strengthening its presence in international markets, where the company already operates in 52 countries worldwide.
Rana’s product portfolio encompasses a variety of fresh, filled pasta, gnocchi, sauces, fresh pasta, and ready meals. The company intends to make its Italian production plants centers of excellence for technological innovation, research, and development, all under the leadership of CEO Gian Luca Rana.
Gian Luca Rana emphasized the company’s commitment to its Italian roots and the positive impact it aims to have on production chains and local communities.
Overall, the investment is set to propel Rana’s growth and further establish the company as a prominent player in the food and beverage industry, aligning with the latest consumer trends.”