It’s the 25th of April 1970 and in Macerata it’s pouring rain. However, Franco Balducci hardly notices the rain; today is the day he is setting up his first tailor’s shop. This is how C.B.F Confezioni Balducci Franco was founded: a workspace of just 40 m2, five tailors, six second-hand sewing machines and, nestled in his pocket alongside measuring tape and scissors, an entrepreneurial dream: to create workwear designed ad hoc for each company. Franco is just 30 years old but he has already donned the hats of a thousand trades.
Balducci leaves for Taranto to participate in his first trade show and returns with an order for 3,000 garments for the largest steel mill in Italy, Italsider (today ArcelorMittal). This memorable order marks the company’s entrance into the sector of workwear for the steel and metalworking industry.
Over the next few years, demand grows exponentially. Balducci moves his workshop to a three-story, 300m2 building in Villa Potenza (MC). More space, more machinery and a few dozen employees, mean C.B.F. is now producing up to 150 garments a day.
On 27th December of this year, Franco Balducci is appointed Knight of the Italian Republic by President Sandro Pertini.
Adept in business strategy and skilled at making quality products, Balducci gains the confidence of large car manufacturers and designs workwear for their technicians and skilled workers. The economic boom further accelerates the growth of the already thriving company and soon a move to a larger premises of 2500m2 is required.
On 2nd January, C.B.F becomes C.B.F. Balducci S.p.A – a joint-stock company owned entirely by the Balducci family, in particular by Franco and his wife.
The company has been exporting to Europe for a few years now and, to stay highly competitive in the market, it must rise to the challenge of internationalisation. Determined to keep quality standards high and employment in Italy, Balducci decides to move only part of the production process to Albanian factories: the cutting, sampling, quality control and logistics phases all remain in Italy with only the actual assembly taking place in Albania.
Internationalisation is opening new horizons and C.B.F. Balducci S.p.A begins to make workwear for large companies in the petroleum, logistics and mass distribution sectors. The first orders for Personal Protective Equipment start to arrive, particularly for anti-snag, high visibility and flame-resistant clothing.
The company moves to a new and larger premises of 8,000 m2 in Montecassiano (MC). Meanwhile, the Balducci family has also grown larger over time, welcoming Gessica, Massimiliano and Benedetta between 1980 and 1995. Today they run the company alongside their father, each bringing their own skills and expertise.
C.B.F. Balducci S.p.A participates for the first time in the “A+A Health and Safety” expo in Düsseldorf and widens its exports to reach Germany, Austria, Spain, and Portugal.
The expansion project of the factory in Montecassiano is complete; it now covers a total surface area of 18,000 m2. The company now employs a workforce of almost 900 employees - distributed between Italy and Albania - and can offer customised logistics services including stock service on clients’ behalf.
The company wins a tender announced by the Ministry of Defence and begins to produce uniforms for the Italian Armed Forces. During this period, as a result of numerous trade show participations, C.B.F. further expands its exports, reaching as far as the United Arab Emirates and South America.
In 2014, Franco Balducci is appointed Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by President Giorgio Napolitano.
C.B.F. Balducci Group - an international company - is founded, composed of C.B.F. Balducci S.p.A., with registered offices and operative headquarters in Montecassiano, Italy and C.B.F. Sh.P.K., in Laknas, Albania.
Constant increase in demand means part of the production is now assembled in Tunisia.
In 2020, C.B.F. Balducci Group celebrated fifty years of business, still upheld by the passion and professionalism of two generations who share the same goals and values.
To mark this fruitful, half-century journey, these are the words the founder spoke to his beloved children on the company’s 50th anniversary.
«Be determined, respectful, ever purposeful.
Remember your roots, your traditions, your family.
Be tireless workers, be pragmatic and diligent.
Reach out your hand, open the company and welcome the work.
Look for substance and don’t let yourselves be blinded by appearances.
Don’t give up, cherish the challenges and, above all else, stand up for people and their humanity».
Comm. Franco Balducci
Montecassiano, April 2020
