HOW ONE BECOMES CAVALIERE DEL LAVORO* : THE STORY OF A WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR THAT CARES ABOUT PEOPLE

The ceremony to award 25 new Cavalieri del Lavoro* took place on 12th June: among them was Rosanna De Lucia, President of SAPA.
An extremely prestigious acknowledgement that rewards the recipients not only for their commitment to labour, but also for their civil and social behaviour characterised by caring for other people. Here is the full video.

A couple of weeks we ago we took a trip to Rome.

The four of us, just like when we were kids and were going away for the holidays. I remember that we were allowed to pack our toys in a rucksack – but one toy each, imagine the discussions – and I remember that we never wanted to leave the rucksack in the boot of the car, we wanted to hold it with us.

It seems ages ago.

My mother always had us pack an extra toy, in case we met a child that didn’t have any.

This detail came back to my memory while we were all tightly but happily sitting in the car to go to the ceremony.

As you may know, the Cavaliere del Lavoro title is an acknowledgement not only for the business success of the recipient but it also acknowledges the encompassing vision of a business and of the person representing it.

Starting from 1975 by my father’s side, and then, after his death, carrying on as the president, my mother has promoted SAPA’s growth and led SAPA to reach objectives that in full honesty were unimaginable up until few years ago.

From a small artisanal and family-run business, the company has grown and today SAPA SpA, with its 10 plants in Italy and Europe, over 1,700 employees and € 250 million turnover, is the leader in the plastics moulding sector. And what is more, SAPA’s growth was not just about numbers.

Over the past few years, SAPA grew significantly, especially thanks to the success of the One-Shot® Method, which you may have heard about; it is the fastest system to produce car parts and it received several world-famous awards such as the Innovation Award, together with Ford, at the SPE Automotive TPO Conference in Detroit in 2017.

But even more importantly, I believe that the Cavaliere del Lavoro title is an acknowledgement of another aspect that is often overlooked, and which makes this award even more special.

Rosanna De Lucia accompanied by her three children, Giovanni, Mariangela and Antonio.

My mother was an ambassador of the motto: “It is people that make the difference”. My father used to say this all the time, and this has become the mantra that we operate by. She embodied this motto, and personally managed the recruitment process at SAPA and promoted continuous training for personnel as a pillar of our company.

Besides all this, she never stopped working for the Angelo Affinita Foundation ONLUS, a not-for-profit organisation that has been promoting the potential of the local community and creating new concrete opportunities for young people in social or economic distress.

Earlier I was telling you about the toy anecdote: that’s what she’s always been like. A very thoughtful woman with a distinct ability to put others first. In my opinion, these characteristics of hers got her the award: a deep-felt philanthropy that is being put at the service of a business can work wonders.

I thought you may want to watch a short video from the award day, you will find the link hereafter.

Kind regards

Giovanni Affinita,

Executive Director and Member of the Board of Directors

*Cavaliere del Lavoro, literally “Knight of Labour” is a rank of the “Order of Merit for Labour” and is an Italian decoration given to important figures in industry “who have been singularly meritorious”. [Translator’s note]

If you would like to find out more on the One-Shot® Method and on SAPA’s projects that can help your business grow, fill in the form below.

We’ll get back to you within 24 hours!