Pieve Santo Stefano boasts a thousand-year history: in Roman times it was called Suppetia and from here logs were thrown into the Tiber which then floated to Rome. The mountains served as a treasure chest of timber for the Eternal City, as Pliny the Elder tells us. Two thousand years later, instead of trunks there are copper cables, optical fibres and superconductors. The Tratos plant manufactures technology that few in the world can generate. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the Renaissance was born in the small strip of Italy around Pieve: a road sign along the Tiberina Bis informs us that Anghiari is 17 kilometres away, here Leonardo painted one of his masterpieces; the distance from Sansepolcro, the city of Piero della Francesca who invented perspective in painting on the wall of the town hall by painting the Resurrection of Christ, is even less, but also that of Luca Pacioli the inventor of double entry bookkeeping, without forgetting that 15 kilometres away there is the birthplace of Michelangelo Buonarroti. «It runs in the family» the British say when there is hereditariness. The Renaissance was the triumph of logic that has reached today in other forms: inventiveness, ability and will. In the fifties, Egidio Capaccini emigrated to Argentina and when he returned he founded Trafilerie Toscane. The breakthrough came in the late seventies. Capaccini dies suddenly and he is replaced by his daughter’s husband who, at the age of just 23, liquidates the other partners and takes out a loan with Unione Fiduciaria in Milan, borrowing a very significant amount for those times and that was the moment Albano Bragagni’s great adventure began. Some examples of the Tratos high technology and of its productions are the superconductors: “unique in the world, supplied for the construction of the nuclear power plant in France – ITER project”, the mobile laying cables in the port of Busan in South Korea, the telecommunication network in Spain – Telefonica S.A. and the railway network of Great Britain.
Everything has been created and developed from this small and remote industrial shed which has since grown and will continue to grow over the years. Pieve Santo Stefano and its people become an integral part of the company, the economy is flourishing, and thanks to Tratos who has always hired over the decades without ever firing anyone and without an hour of layoffs, still and more than ever experiences that determination, that mission by Egidio Capaccini’s to “guarantee prosperity for his fellow citizens”.
Albano Bragagni, who carried on with this mission in addition to preserving and bringing those values to life within the company, also transmitted them by managing the town: “the trust of the people who elected him Mayor of Pieve for twenty-nine years”.
This small ancient world brings its benefits and in this Italy of great unfinished works and crumbling infrastructures, the Group is similar to Albert Einstein’s saying: “The wing structure of the bumblebee, in relation to its weight, is not suitable for flight, but he does not know this and flies anyway”. In these lands of the Renaissance, the cradle of art and of Great Beauty, a treasure of the Italian free market is almost hidden, “Tratos, a small family business for a large manufacturing company”.
Albano Bragagni states: «family businesses are the ones that best stood up to the pandemic, we divided tasks and powers in the company and my children Elisabetta and Ennio are both managing directors, my brother Germano looks after the Catania plant and my nephew Maurizio Tratos Ltd – UK in Great Britain», it was as simple as double entry bookkeeping and we had to do it.
I love this country, so much so that for 29 years I have held the position of mayor with commitment and passion, seeking and defending the well-being of the human capital represented by the citizens of Pieve and by our employees.
Tratos sees its policy aimed at enhancing talent by equipping it with the necessary skills to create sustainable value over time and in the interest of employees, management, shareholders and all stakeholders.
It implements the national collective bargaining agreement (Italian “Rubber and Plastic” National Labour Collective Agreement), but also applies improvements deriving from internal agreements, almost sixty years of activity in the technological manufacturing sector without ever firing or laying off an employee, and without ever having to deal with union disputes or workers’ strikes.
Management was difficult when the Covid pandemic broke out, there were two months during which orders had really decreased and uncertainty reigned supreme. Keeping fear and the health of our people under control was a whole new situation and we ourselves were terrified.
The priority commitment, which has always been managed to protect the integrity, health and well-being of the Group’s workers, allowed us to overcome the difficult moment and as we are aware of the importance of the policy for Health, Safety and the Environment and Energy; we will continue with our commitment to guarantee a safe workplace, ensuring a systematic management approach, maintaining the relative certifications and providing training and information.
R&D “Research and Development”, which has always allowed our growth, has been and will remain the backbone of our business. It has allowed us to collaborate and comply with the requests of Stakeholders, to confirm our strategic priority in energy transition processes through the evolution of the sector relating to environmental impact and to support experimental nuclear fusion projects with the related search for new particles.
In collaboration with our customers and suppliers, we have always, and today more than ever, been developing innovative materials using new plant-based compounds deriving from recycled raw materials. A perfect circular economy with a 30% lower carbon footprint than current market standards.
Our brand is recognised everywhere as a guarantee of efficiency and quality. Our feet and eyes are in many countries around the world, but the heart of the company remains in this small Tuscan town in the province of Arezzo.
With the “mission” that will accompany us into the future… Bragagni continues: «I have never thought of moving the main office, because Pieve Santo Stefano is not in a bad position from a geographical and communication point of view and thanks to its central position in Italy it has multiple roads… but the truth is, I would never have moved anyway.
Here I feel the irreplaceable warmth and sweet scent of home. I met my wife in eighth grade, and we have always been together since high school. Our history has sprouted and grown in this land.
We should all be aware of the beauty that surrounds us and be grateful for it. For over twelve years, every Sunday morning at seven I have met up with friends (some of whom work in the Tratos Group) and we have gone for walks along our mountain paths.
Over five hours to breathe in fresh air, savour nature, be guided by freedom and beauty. I know these places like the back of my hand, yet they never cease to surprise and excite me».
ALBANO BRAGAGNI
PRESIDENT OF TRATOS
