"To mechanize and automate also means to respect personnel," explains Fausto Marconi, founder of Marconi Vivai in Roverbella (Mantua), confirming his intention of innovating and automating operations to make them easier and less strenuous for employees. Fausto's work, which started over 50 years ago, is now continued by his three children and his nephews.
Massimo, Fausto and Riccardo Marconi
"With over 200 million plants produced every year, we are a point of reference in the nursery sector. Our activity is divided into four macro areas: leaf vegetables, soilless production, industry tomatoes, and fruit plants. Around 20% of our market is abroad. We have made numerous investments lately to expand and improve our facilities."
As Riccardo explains - son of Massimo and the third generation running the company - there are 6 hectares of greenhouses, plus 2 in warehouses.
By talking to Fausto, it is instead possible to go back in time yet grasp a very modern vision of the concept of business. "I have always been in favor of investments to innovate the company. Mine were the first high-tech greenhouses to be built locally in the mid-1980s. Already in the late 1970s, I traveled abroad and to the Netherlands and saw that they were so much ahead of us. Today, I am happy that my children are continuing to invest and innovate, but I always tell them to be careful and assess each step so they won't bite off more than they can chew, as the current market situation is not the one I experienced in the 1980s-1990s, it is much more complicated."
Lately, Marconi Vivai has also invested in renewing lighting, and it has carried out tests with alternative spectra to identify the best solution in collaboration with C-Led. It opted for sodium lamps, and the results have certainly been encouraging. The collaboration between the two companies, which started with the illumination of grafting rooms, now strengthens with the supply of products for greenhouses.
"Thanks to the right light, different for every phase, the quality of plants has improved, and consumption is lower. By choosing the right lamps, we have noticed an improvement in the quality of tomato, basil, cucumber, eggplant, and bell pepper plants with an energy saving of 50%," explains Raffaello Montanari from C-Led.
Raffaello Montanari from C-Led (far right) with Riccardo, Massimo and Fausto Marconi at Marconi Vivai
"Innovation is constant in our company, also because we want to remain competitive and meet the needs of our Italian and foreign clients."
For more information:
C-LED
Via Gambellara, 34
40026 Imola (BO) – Italy
Tel.: +39 0542 654980
info@c-led.it
www.c-led.it
Marconi Vivai 
Strada Levata, 9
Roverbella (MN)
Tel.: +39 0376 696706/7
info@marconivivai.it
www.marconivivai.it