Profile
The Baccetti family has Tuscan origins. They left the province of Siena for Montelupo Fiorentino in the first decades of the nineteenth century. They first moved to Montelupo in 1817 on what was to become the first of a number of seasonal visits to the area, when the economic situation was more favorable. They eventually settled in around 1835 By coming and living in that area, the family had more of a chance to develop its business. As a matter of fact, Montelupo Fiorentino, and the entire Valdarno Inferiore area, had known a steady industrial and trade growth. The Baccetti had been dealing with goods transportation for years, and they served both Tuscan farms and companies dealing in local trade (pottery, glass and straw for hats). By the late nineteenth century the Baccetti were the leading company in local transportation. The building of the first Leopolda railway along the Pisa-Livorno line (1850) did not affect their business, and the Baccetti held their position in the market. The development of their trade was not competing against the new means of transportation. On the contrary, the services they offered became complementary to railway transport. By the turn of the century, such integration was dramatically enhanced thanks to the introduction of engine-operated vehicles and the beginning of transportation by road. Despite a small dip in the trade flow due to the crisis of 1929, the Baccetti succeeded in maintaining their lead in the field of local transportation, and, as a matter of fact, they were able to expand their services to additional areas. The years which followed the Second World War saw the steady development of the Baccetti Company, which was, by then, becoming one of the most important suppliers of local and regional transportation. The company's growth was simultaneous to the development of the harbor at Livorno, and the increase in exports to the United States of America helped the company to prosper. The company reached a turning point in its history around the years 1969 and 1970 when the use of containers revolutionized the overseas shipping of goods. They realized that containers would play a leading role in the transportation system worldwide. To better keep pace with the developing transportation technology, the company built a network of integrated communication systems and set up a number of logistic centers throughout Italy. This led to the opening of the company 's offices first in Genoa (a national worldwide shipping location), Livorno (a historical harbor), La Spezia (a developing harbor/port), and subsequently in Ancona, Ravenna and Venice. They also opened offices inland including cities such as Milan and Padua, which are connected to Northern European harbors. These offices are connected to the main venue in Empoli through the Internet so that they can track down the movements of vehicles throughout Europe in real time. These logistics allowed for the integration of transportation by road and by railway. The new venue in Montelupo Fiorentino features an 8,000 sq m. warehouse and a 20,000 sq m yard. It is therefore possible to store and distribute goods by offering the customers a large number of services which complete the logistic cycle.
