The Editorial #3
A few words with...
Francesco Enrico Gonzo
As spokesperson for the municipality of Isola Vicentina, what are the characteristics of this territory?
Isola Vicentina is a municipality of about 10300 inhabitants, located halfway between Vicenza and Schio, in the northern part of the upper Vicenza area. It is equidistant from the most important cities in the province, and now, thanks to the new Pedemontana motorway linking the Vicenza and Treviso sides, space and time distances have been considerably reduced: from here you can reach Bassano Del Grappa in less than a quarter of an hour. The land area covers almost 25 square kilometres, an expanse of land characterised by plains and hills, facing the promontories of the Little Dolomites and Lessinia, where rural and urban landscapes have been optimally combined in terms of land preservation.
While from a historical point of view, an ancient stone artefact was found in Isola Vicentina in 1992, during clay quarrying excavations, dated around the 4th century B.C., in which the word Veneto appears for the first time. The stele of Isola Vicentina, now kept at the Natural History Museum in Vicenza, is considered by archaeology to be one of the most important finds in the region. We can say that Isola Vicentina represents a small Bethlehem in terms of cultural history.
Territory, municipality and companies...
F.E.G.: The Isola Vicentina area has always had a predominantly agricultural vocation. In the 1960s, thanks to the merit of the then first citizen and regional councillor, Giuseppe Sbalchiero, the municipality of Isola Vicentina was classified among those depressed areas of the Veneto Region, understood as areas with no industrialisation, where there was only agriculture and very poor craftsmanship. From then on, a great entrepreneurial capacity was manifested to evolve from agriculture, without however abandoning it, both in terms of activity and culture.
An initial industrial development began in connection with working the land, starting with clay quarries, and culminating in specialised handicrafts in the production of bricks, which evolved into bricks and everything from which construction derives. This sector was later weakened by the crisis that began in 2008, allowing others to develop, thus managing to maintain a high level of employment in the area. The social and employment fabric changed, no longer only related to earthworks, but also addressing other production areas, such as environmental, chemical, metallurgical and technological.
The case of LAPRIMA PLASTICS is certainly significant in that not only was it possible to recover an industrial site, which had been the object of a previous bankruptcy caused by the crisis in the textile sector in the 1990s, but it was also possible to achieve a recovery within recovery: the redevelopment of an abandoned industrial area through the insertion of a production activity dedicated to the recovery and recycling of industrial plastic waste and residues.
The textile company of the time, the HF spinning mill, gave a lot of work to several families in the area, it was one of those enterprises that boosted the industrial development of Isola Vicentina. The bankruptcy and consequent abandonment of the production site caused a certain feeling of resignation. The arrival of LAPRIMA PLASTICS was greeted with interest, amazement and satisfaction, in the sense that nothing is destroyed but everything is transformed. The municipality itself is a public company, it is a public body offering public services. What I have tried to do as mayor in these six years in office has been to activate a close collaboration with the various entrepreneurial realities in the area, through constant and continuous dialogue; above all, we have set up a Commission for Productive Activities whose task is both to maintain an active level of dialogue and to keep a high level of attention on the requests of these companies, possibly anticipating them. Our driver is definitely dialogue and collaboration.
«It was possible to achieve a recovery within recovery: the redevelopment of an abandoned industrial area through the insertion of a production activity dedicated to the recovery and recycling of industrial plastic waste and residues».
What kind of requests do you receive from companies?
F.E.G.: The most significant questions that are solicited by the various companies mainly concern issues of safety at work and the possibility of developing infrastructure, not only in terms of logistics, transport and mobility, but particularly in technological terms such as the digitalisation of the area, the possibility of investing in the expansion of telecommunications networks, with broadband connection, which unfortunately is not the responsibility of the municipality, but of the regional and ministerial level. The municipality collects instances and requests and then transfers them to the higher authorities.
The municipality as a connection device: advantages, benefits and limitations....
F.E.G.: Collaboration between the municipality of Isola Vicentina and local businesses is not enough if we want to make it efficient for the well-being of the community. The dialogue between these two realities must be extended and addressed to the entire community, also taking into account associations and voluntary groups. Companies themselves are urged to turn their attention to the territory and the environment in which they operate. We are not only talking about entrepreneurs and the mayor, but about the entire community, i.e. the set of groups, families, workers and citizens belonging to a specific territory.
In these terms we speak of welfare, a theme that is increasingly dear to the attention of entrepreneurs, an element that also enriches corporate marketing and branding strategies, becoming, if you like, more attractive to workers than others. We are confident that if there is continuous improvement on the part of companies, the municipal administration and employees, this can also generate competitive advantages for the region.
LAPRIMA PLASTICS is a virtuous example; together with Ing. Dall’Amico, we have cultivated an ever-increasing focus on the environment.Its plastics recycling and refining activities, carried out with the aim of preserving the environmental ecological capital, are fully in line with the environmental sustainability policies of the municipality of Isola Vicentina, which are in line with the European Community policies of the Covenant of Mayors, an action plan for Sustainable Energy and Climate, in which public bodies, companies and families participate. From bilateral to multi-directional relationships involving communities and territory.
«Everyone must benefit from the relationships and the benefits that can be generated from them, in order to create a healthy and resilient community capable of acting and reacting collectively».
Your commitment to culture?
F.E.G.: As a municipal administration, we have carried out various cultural and social activities. For our part in particular, thanks to the immense contribution of our administrative and accounting manager, Dott. re Ettore dal Santo, there has always been a solid will to develop an identity of the municipality and the territory under the cultural profile, starting with the literary event Profumo di Carta (Scent of Paper), which has happily reached its 5th edition, and then Isola Vicentina in Doc, a review of auteur documentaries, as well as a series of other activities carried out in cooperation with local associations,The arrival of LAPRIMA PLASTICS was greeted with interest, amazement and satisfaction, in the sense that nothing is destroyed but everything is transformed.
The municipality itself is a public company, it is a public body offering public services.
What I have tried to do as mayor in these six years in office has been to activate a close collaboration with the various entrepreneurial realities in the area, through constant and continuous dialogue; above all, we have set up a Commission for Productive Activities whose task is both to maintain an active level of dialogue and to keep a high level of attention on the requests of these companies, possibly anticipating them.Our driver is definitely dialogue and collaboration.
Have you noticed any effects through these activities?
F.E.G.: We have noticed a change of pace on the part of the local population and citizens of the province, more than a change we can say that we have started to create a new path together, bearing in mind that before our term of office, this type of proposal did not exist, or in any case was left to the management of the associations, in Isola Vicentina there were almost only the classic village festivals. Culture is a slow engine, a precious flywheel for social growth, but with long-term effects, not immediate ones. It took almost three years to build the loyalty of citizens, make them participate, and get them used to new proposals.
Safeguarding and protecting the environment as a shared value
F.E.G.: These are values that must be shared collectively and pursued individually. In our programme there is a focus on the effects of climate change on stormwater management, there is the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan, which works on urban reforestation, and on awareness of energy consumption in different buildings, as much as on exploiting the incentives that the state makes available with the various bonuses. Our desire is to make the public body close to the citizen in a path of environmental awareness that continuously needs care, promotion, preservation and enhancement.