Berlin

There are already more than 1,100 Italian firms of all kinds in the city.

Berlin and vicinity. For example, at the firm Francia Mozzarella in Tempelhof, fifty German and Italian employees produce 4.3 million kilos of cheese every year. In Vetschau, one hundred kilometres from Berlin, German tradition and Italian design entered into an alliance with the firm Porcelaingres, of the Fiandre Group, which manufactures stoneware tiles. Between 2003 and 2009, its turnover increased from six to 30 million euro.

Today, 1,108 Italian businesses are registered with the Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce. This places the country in fourth place following Turkey, Poland and Vietnam. This is only an approximate number, says Domenico Varuzza from the Italian chamber of commerce for Germany. “Many companies are not yet registered.” The catering trade with restaurants and pizzerias is experiencing a boom. “Food has always been the top sector,” according to Varuzza. Yet, it is not the only one. In recent months dozens of new firms have settled in Berlin and vicinity from a diverse array of sectors – from toyshops like Bartolucci all the way to estate agents. “Every month, at least three Italians come to us asking for support for a new business founding,” reports Varuzza. “Just a few years ago, that would have been unthinkable.”

In the opinion of the CEO of Porcelaingres, Graziano Verdi, Germany offers more opportunities for quality products. “Here, reliability prevails, the bureaucracy is more clearly structured and the state is actually present.” For his factory with 100 employees in Vetschau, the enterprise received support from the state of Brandenburg, which covered 35 percent of the investments of 50 million euro. In spite of rising milk costs, the economic crisis has not hindered Francia Mozzarella from expansion. The Francia Group, which produces DOP mozzarella on the Pontinian plain near Rome, has been in Germany since 1995. In 2001, it built a factory in Tempelhof for 15 million euro, one of the production facilities with the highest degree of automation in Europe.

Nonetheless, they continue to produce cheese according to the traditional rules. For instance, the Sicilian Gioacchino still shapes the balls of cheese by hand. From the daily supply of milk the fifty employees produce mozzarella and organic mozzarella, ricotta, butter and caciotta cheese and sales are approximately 20 million euro per year. The customers include restaurants in Berlin and other German cities.

“Our philosophy consists of combining tradition and innovation,” explains Director-General Pierluigi Verga. He, with the firm Monti, which sells Italian products in three Berlin shops, also operates his own shop with a focus on the wine trade. At Monti you can tap seven varieties of wine from the barrel. “Wine consumption is rising in Germany,” says co-owner Adriana Sevan. “We mainly sell bulk products, but also pasta, oil, grappa and vinegar.” The firm makes 200,000 euro turnover and is expanding. In November 2009, it opened its third branch in Prenzlauer Berg and in March will open “Little Italy” in Rudow, where 800 square metres will house a special salami shop, a grill-snack bar and a restaurant. So far, the companies have withstood the crisis, yet they have not been left entirely unscathed. The Italian trade commission (ICE) in Berlin estimates the drop in business activity in Germany last year at five to six percent. Now, the ICE plans to increasingly “promote our quality products through information campaigns and participation in trade fairs.”