The OPAC Campisi company has its roots and traditions in Sicily, precisely in Siracusa, a beautiful city in the south-eastern coast of the Italian region.
The history of the firm started when four brothers established themselves in the agricultural sector. Indeed, their successful cooperation was based mostly on the importance of a united family, which is still the leading value nowadays.
Cautious investments, innovation and the implementation of greenhouses allowed for the success of the company, both nationally and abroad. The cooperation lasted for around forty years when the four brothers decided to part ways and followed different professional paths. At this point, the OPAC Campisi was established.
In the 1970s, Antonino Campisi, the youngest of the four Campisi brothers, started his company subsequently assisted by his sons, Giuseppe and Dario. Antonino’s and even more Giuseppe and Dario’s style of management is characterized by the tendency of going beyond the regional and national borders to be inspired and innovate following large Italian and European agricultural corporations.
Giuseppe and Dario soon took over the family company thanks to their great managerial and foresight skills. Moreover, they immediately understood that the winning strategy would and should have been based on the diversification of the distribution channels, aiming at the large-scale retail channels both in Italy and abroad.
Nowadays, OPAC has up to three-hundred employees in the busiest periods of the year. The continuous growth regarding the production, innovation and the diversification of investments is partly determined by the new generation, precisely the fourth generation of the company- a disruptive environment brought by fresh and young minds. In particular, the two brothers are now supported by Nino and Robfruiterto, Giuseppe’s sons, and Ludovica and Barbara, Dario’s daughters. The core business in the company has always been the production of the Lemon from Siracusa IGP also known as Siracusa’s femminello.
Moreover, the firm successfully produces and trades blonde and blood orange, baby watermelon, iceberg, endive escarole salad, courgettes and local potato soon to be awarded the IGP trademark. The full production chain is undoubtedly the flagship of the firm; indeed, OPAC Campisi owns every step of the process. Everything starts from the certified plant nursery, where the seeds produce the trees which will then be planted in the seven hundred fifty hectares of land managed by the company. Following the tradition, lemons and oranges are handpicked.
Subsequently, the fruits are transported to the main factory to be processed and packaged. The main factory has a surface of around ten thousand square meters and is entirely covered in solar panels, making the firm environmentally friendly. A few years ago, more space was created to place the newest addition to OPAC, Campisi Citrus.
This part of the company processes all the citrus fruit that display some imperfection concerning aesthetics even if still perfect for what concerns the organoleptic properties. The trademark of production, in this case, is the essential oil extracted directly from the peel of the citrus, such as the Siracusa IGP lemon, the blonde and blood orange, tangerines and grapefruit.
Although a newly born firm, Campisi Citrus has many plans to be developed. For instance, the current cooperation with a northern Italian company in the production of artisanal ice cream. Mainly, this joint project has the primary objective of making lemon ice cream with an extremely high concentration of Siracusa IGP organic lemon juice, displayed in an innovative ice cream tub.
Moreover, the project that would see Citrus as one of the main players in the cosmetics industry, placing significant importance on the role of the essential oil.
Many are the plans and challenges for OPAC Campisi at the moment. The primary objective is to identify the trends, both nationally and worldwide, for business development while keeping in mind the roots, history and values that are fundamental for the own existence of the firm.
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