VTN Celebrates Golden Anniversary
Published: 28/12, 2023
This past June, Italian attachment manufacturer VTN celebrated its 50th anniversary with the slogan “Thinking Out of the Box.” The event included speeches, facility tours, and celebrations
honoring the legacy of the family-owned enterprise.
VTN’s story began in a small garage in Noventa Vicentina, a small town southwest of Venice. Founder Nerio Vaccaro and a few collaborators started producing buckets on behalf of FAI, an Italian manufacturer of excavators and backhoes which later became Komatsu Italia. By the late 1970s the first exports to France had begun, and the company was named VTN Benne.
In the late 1980s, VTN crossed paths with what would become its core business when a customer asked VTN to build a grapple—an attachment not produced in Italy at the time. Nerio Vaccaro took up the challenge and created the company’s first grapple, soon followed by their first hydraulic crusher. VTN had now set a new direction for itself and consolidated their full commitment to demolition and recycling.
In the 1990s, VTN Europe S.p.A. was established and the production of grapples, hydraulic crushers, and other hydraulic equipment was transferred to nearby Pojana Maggiore.
In 1999, VTN Benne and VTN Europe merged into a single company, and the manufacturing of buckets also moved to Pojana Maggiore. Over the years, VTN Europe has grown into a headquarters with a total area of 129,000 ft2 (43,000m2), providing a perfect setting for the 50th anniversary celebration. Attendees included the company owners, numerous employees, collaborators and clients, as well as state officials and Italian and foreign suppliers.
The event began with a letter from the president of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, congratulating VTN
on reaching the milestone of 50 years. Doris Lunardi, VTN’s president and Vaccaro’s widow, recalled how her family imagined reaching such a milestone when they started out.
“With Nerio’s determination, we began an adventure that we pursued together, facing numerous challenges due to limited resources, financial difficulties, and economic crises that often put us in difficult situations,” she said.
Lunardi then went on to acknowledge the contributions of collaborators through the journey; a journey which has also included the involvement of their children Matteo, Antonio, and Elisa in managing the company.
Paola Fortuna, mayor of Pojana and a teacher at ITC Masotto in Noventa, recalled how VTN was among the first companies to believe in the early experiments of schoolwork alternation. Visitors were then welcomed to an exclusive tour into the production facilities for tours were led by VTN staff, who explained the various stages of production. The evening concluded with a dinner at Villa Curti in Sovizzo, which dates back to the late 16th century. Doris Lunardi and her family once again took the stage, thanking the attendees as well as showing a video that retraced the company’s history.
“It feels incredible to celebrate 50 years,” said Massimo Ballo, VTN’s sales manager. “There was a demand to customize products on demand, and we were able to. We understood the necessity of the market, and learned from the market as well.”
But the most important factor in running a company for this long is the kinship between colleagues
“The reason why it’s still working is because it’s a family company,” Ballo added. “It’s important to stay together, grow old together and find support. You can’t do this alone. The team are all on the same page, the suppliers too – everyone here is a friend.”