Giovanni moves up - from Ferrari to Berco

Mar 13 2007 By Helen Logan, The Journal

Giovanni Micheletto used to work at what is regarded by many as one of the most glamorous organisations in the world. Today he is in charge of a factory dealing with systems for earth moving equipment. But he could not be happier about this change, as Helen Logan discovered.

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With a five-year Italian engineering degree and a Yale Master of Science to his credit, Giovanni Micheletto has spent much of his career in sales and marketing as well as the nuts and bolts base of the business. Today he is the general manager of Berco (UK), in Middlesbrough.

He used to be employed by Electrolux as a key account manager dealing with big-name clients such as Pizza Hut, McDonald's and hotel chains.

And then came the dream job that is top of every Italian's wish list. He worked for Ferrari. The illustrious sports and racing car builder gets 3,000 CVs a week from jobseekers.

Many, says Giovanni, would pay Ferrari to employ them, because the famous motoring marque is seen by racing-mad Italians as the most glamorous organisation in the world.

"The people who Ferrari employ are certainly the cream of the crop. They are smart and many are famous. You mix with people with fabulous reputations all the time," he says.

So why did he quit as Ferrari's regional sales manager for the Americas and Middle East? It became just like any other job and he did not see much career progression against colleagues who appeared to be better-connected.

"You also get bored with watching cars going round and round all the time. Even at Ferrari the glamour goes away after the first year or two."

So he left and was attracted by Berco, part of German multinational ThyssenKrupp, and maker of tracked vehicle undercarriage components and systems for earth moving equipment, because he'd always liked watching excavators at work.

Giovanni particularly likes Berco's attitude to its workforce. Berco is based between Bologna and Venice in a small town where up to four generations have worked in its factory. They are encouraged to feel it is their firm and form a special attachment to their employer.

Now he is hoping to recreate the family feel in Middlesbrough and already the staff at the Riverside Park factory have been going out together and have tried their hand at karting.

"My idea is to have a big family where everyone respects each other and we are taking care over recruiting the right characters and personalities. We are not hiring units but human beings with personality who will fit into our family," he says. Already the Middlesbrough factory has a personal feel.

Giovanni's office houses Ferrari, Yale and Juventus memorabilia.

A kennel was built in the factory so people could bring their dogs to work. There's also been some democracy over music played out over the factory floor.

"I like classical music so we started with that. But not everyone agreed, so you are more likely to hear TFM or Radio Cleveland now. We want people to be happy and they wanted a mix of music and news."

The base at Riverside Park serves the company's major UK customers - Komatsu and JCB - with tracked vehicle undercarriage components and systems for earth moving equipment.

This comes with Berco changing from supplying their factories direct from Italy to serving them on a just-in-time basis from Middlesbrough. It could take components eight to 14 days to arrive at the factories from Italy, but the Middlesbrough site can offer daily deliveries.

One of the reasons the company chose to set up on Teesside was because there were many highly skilled people available to it in the area.

Middlesbrough was a perfect choice for Berco for other reasons too.

It was near its customers, components were imported through Teesport, and Berco was already buying several thousand tons of laminated steel bars from Corus at Skinningrove.

These were being sent to Italy to produce track shoes, but these are to be manufactured at the Middlesbrough plant.

Giovanni got a lot of help in locating to Middlesbrough from Tees Valley Regeneration, and in particular project executive Richard Hunter.

"He found me businesses, helped with house-hunting and made available hundreds of contacts. I could not have had more help," he says.

Giovanni and his family are now settled in Yarm and he is glad his two young children are having the opportunity to live abroad.

He says they are the perfect age to become bilingual and hopes they will benefit from the mind-broadening experience of changing their surroundings.

Giovanni's own interests stretch from photography to football.

Sadly his team, Juventus, was demoted as a result of a recent Italian soccer scandal. He says he will now be forced to choose a team to support from the English Premiership. So who will that be?

"It has to be Middlesbrough. Everyone here is a Boro fan. The ground is just a mile away. And, who knows, we might get some great Italian players signing!"