• The Origins

The Àncora group was born in 1990 from the skilful intuition of Alessandro Pietrantuono who acquired and united, under a single strategic direction, a few companies with centuries-old experience in the collection, processing, marketing and direct distribution of fresh and frozen peeled chestnuts and other kinds of frozen fruit in general.

The far-sighted vision and entrepreneurial abilities of the entire Pietrantuono family have allowed the group to grow and position itself among the world leaders in the agri-food sector, boasting today in its customer portfolio, companies from all over the world: from Mass Market Retailers to the specialists of roast chestnuts from Switzerland, Austria and Germany; from the confectionery industries producing marron glacé in Japan and France to the food industries in general (producers of flour, grain, dried chestnuts, etc.)

Stabilimento di Serino

  • The Group Companies

1990

1990

Main Factory

Serino (Avellino), Italy

1926

1926

Chestnut harvest center

Cuneo, Italy
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1936

1936

Chestnut harvest center

Conca della Campania (CE)
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1950

1950

Direct distribution center

Glarus Süd, Svizzera
website

2019

2019

Direct distribution center

Sieveringer Straße, Vienna
website

Packaging in wooden barrels for shipping to US by sea

The companies that have formed the Àncora group since 1990 have always had an international vocation, in fact, they exported chestnuts not only in some European countries but also in the United States using wooden barrels that they shipped by ship.

  • SECA CUNEO

    The oldest company in the group was born in the city of Cuneo in 1926: the SECA (Società Esportazione Castagne e Affini: Chestnut and Related Parties Export Company). For almost 100 years, the company has been collecting and exporting chestnuts from the Val di Susa, an area known all over the world for its millenary chestnut trees that produce sweet fruits especially suitable for gastronomic preparations and for confectionery industries.

  • SECA SUD

    After 10 years, in 1936, SECA SUD was born in Avellino which combined the quality of the chestnuts of the Piedmont region with those of the Campania region from the territories of Roccamonfina and Conca della Campania, two cities of Alto Casertano on the crater of an ancient inactive volcano, a pristine area rich in lush chestnut woods. These places are situated in Campania state, South of Italy, where the chestnut cultivation is a typical activity of the territory and the farmers still follow traditional methods, often disappeared elsewhere.

  • GENTILE MARRONI DISTRIBUZIONE

    In 1950, Gentile Marroni Distribuzione was born, which has always dealt with direct distribution of chestnuts, already engraved and ready to roast, to all chestnut specialists in Switzerland.

  • SERINO PLANT

    In 1970 it was opened in Serino, in the province of Avellino, the production plant that deals with the selection, processing and export of fresh or frozen chestnuts and browns all over the world.

  • SECA MARONI GMBH

    In 2019 a new challenge begins with SECA Maroni GmbH. Strongly desired by the ownership of the group to reach and serve directly and in a capillary way the best specialists of roasted chestnuts of Austria.

Today the group is led by Pietrantuono’s sons, the second generation, that with an eye to the future constantly invest and work to expand volumes, increase efficiency and reduce production costs while maintaining high quality standards of the products and respecting workers’ rights.

Thanks to important commercial agreements with partners such as Red Island and TrentoFrutta, the group exports puree and concentrated fruit juices to Japan.

The company philosophy, now as then, bases solid foundations on the supply of a finished product of excellent quality as well as on a tailored assistance service for each individual customer.

Àncora’s Chestnuts

  • Certifications

Certified Organic Agriculture – ICEA.
ICEA is synonymous with quality and reliability at an international level for companies and consumers who choose organic. This certification allows the consumer to have important guarantees: to ensure the traceability of the raw materials and the finished product; guarantee the quality of the products.

GLOBALG.A.P. it is the internationally recognized standard for agricultural production which covers: food safety and traceability, environment (including biodiversity), health, safety and welfare of workers. Also includes Integrated Crop Management (ICM), Integrated Pest Control (IPC), Quality Management System (QMS) and HACCP.

 

The GLOBALGAP GRASP certification is a supplement to the GLOBAL G.A.P certification in order to evaluate social practices in the company, addressing specific aspects of workers’ health, safety and well-being.

An international standard for the verification of food products. Also adopted by the main trade associations, this standard is applied at all stages of the production and processing chain of raw materials from agriculture and farms.

The BRC (British Retail Consortium) is a specific global standard for the safety of food products. The objective of the BRC certification is to ensure the quality and safety of food products offered to consumers by GDO suppliers and retailers.

Environmental Management System, certified according to the UNI EN ISO 14001 standard, which allows the systemic management of the environmental aspects inherent to the processes, with a view to efficiency and improvement of environmental performance.

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