Marangoni’s Rovereto workforce concerned for future as Vipal deal looms

Marangoni’s positive recent business figures could have a sting in their tail for 188 workers at the manufacturer’s Rovereto, Italy plant. Negotiations with Brazilian retread supplier Vipal Rubber about a potential majority takeover of the Italian Marangoni Group are at an “advanced stage”, according to local press. According to the Corriere del Trentino, the regional edition of the Corriere della Sera, unions are increasingly worried about the future of Rovereto.

Central to these fears is the potential for Vipal to take over the Marangoni business, but not the production site in Rovereto. According to Corriere, this was sold to the Province of Trento in 2010 for 41 million euros via the regional economic development agency Trentino Sviluppo, which in turn wants to secure local jobs. Since then, the province has always been involved in any negotiations on the future of the Marangoni Group. The plan at the time was for Marangoni to buy back the site over the course of 18 years.

Unions are also wary of the trend of family companies passing into the hands of industrial groups in the Trentino region. The Corriere del Trentino report puts this down to a lack of young local entrepreneurs. The province should, in the unions’ opinion, attempt to consolidate families’ heirs or promote the ‘popular shareholding’ business model. This general opinion is informing some of the workers’ negative reaction to the potential takeover.

The Corriere del Trentino also suggested Vipal’s takeover, with a 60 per cent share in the Marangoni Group, could be completed “in the coming weeks”.