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Each March the Italian association, Associazione Nazionale dellaImprese di Disinfestazione (ANID), holds a national event – anexhibition one year and then a conference the next. This year it wasthe turn of the conference. Getting on for 500 delegates packed thestylish Auditorium Antonianum in Rome for two full days ofpresentations on 21-22 March 2018.

All credit should go to ANID for attracting such a large audience ofvery attentive pest control professionals from within its membership– a figure far larger than is achieved in the UK. In addition, 18commercial companies supported the event and had small table-topdisplays within the foyer.

One of the first things to strike you at these events is the strongfeeling of 'family'. Within the ranks of the association itself you getthe clear impression the organisers, along with numerous 'helpers'from within the membership, are all happily working together tomake a success of the event.

Another thing to strike you is the continuity of the members of theassociation – each year you spot, and then get to know, the sameindividuals. With the exception of a handful of large multinationalpest control companies e.g. Rentokil and Anticimex, Italian pestcontrol companies are predominantly small to medium sized family-owned operations, which surely helps with the 'family' feeling.

Also, there is always a large number of Italian developers andmanufacturers of pest control products present. These extend thefeeling of 'family' still further, as the ownership of virtually all these

companies is private, lying within the long term control of severalfamilies. These companies, such as Bleu Line, OSD and Vebiresearch and develop products for their home market which, quiteuniquely, they also sell direct to end user pest controllers. Each willhave a sizable products' catalogue containing their own products,plus a full range of products from the other big manufacturers e.g.Bayer, BASF, Syngenta etc so as to be able to provide a one-stopshop for their Italian customers.

This means, that distributors as we know them, do not have much ofa presence. You will not find the big multi-territory exhibitors such asKillgerm, Edialux and PPS at this event which appeals only to thehome Italian market. Although they are represented at the exhibitionin alternate years, as these are more international affairs.

In addition to selling to their home market, these Italianmanufacturers very actively sell their ranges internationally too. Herelocal distributors will be sought and utilised, as well as selling tocustomers direct. So, a second, not so thick product catalogue,usually in English, is also produced to cater for these needs.

At magazine we receive numerous invitations to attend international events,but time, if nothing else, prevents us from attending them all. However, the Italianpest control association (ANID) events are amongst our favourites, as once therewe receive a very warm welcome and without fail, return with plenty of material towrite about. This year was no exception as editor Frances McKim discovered.

Pest

Pest

Made in Italy

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The explanation why many are in the samevicinity is quite simple – several are 'spin-off'companies from the original – experiencedmembers of staff wanting to run their ownbusinesses. One of the longest established isVebi located in Padua. Amusingly, as CEOLuigi Bazzolo explains: “There are so manycompanies specialising in rodenticides in thevalley around Padua, it's known locally bythose in the industry as 'rodent valley'!

The company was originally founded in1945 by Renzo Bazzolo, a trainedpharmacist, who built up the businessmanufacturing and selling cosmetics,antibiotics, vitamins etc. From hispharmaceutical knowledge he was

aware of the properties of warfarin, so in1966 he spotted the opportunity tomanufacture rodenticides, and the Murinbrand was born. Today both branches of thebusiness still exist under the Vebi IstitutoBiochimico banner, exporting to more than50 countries. “It's almost bizarre,” exclaimsLuigi who joined his father in the business in1986, “one minute I'm dealing with top ofthe range anti-wrinkle creams and then thenext a rodent issue!”

Also close to Padua is a further pest controlspecialist manufacturer, INDIA – anotherfamily owned company. It was founded in1932 by Lorenzo Brazzoduro as a businessproducing disinfectants, before building up

an impressive insecticide and rodenticideportfolio. The company was then acquired in2014 by the Induchim Group, anotherfamily business. Today INDIA is managedby Debora Cazzaro and her brotherGiovanni.

Other family-founded rodenticide companiesin 'rodent valley' are Newpharm, Zapi andKollant, although the later two have now

Italian manufacturers– a family affairCasting your eye over the programme for the conference, it includes details of the commercialsponsors. Once Bayer, Syngenta and BASF are put to one side, the balance is all Italiancompanies. If you look where they are based, all fall within a concentrated triangle in thenorth of the country taking in the area around Milan, running south to Bologna and north tonear Venice around the Padua area.

Luigi Bazzolo, son of Renzo, the founderof Vebi

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bucked the family trend. The Zambotto family, founders of Zapi,formed the Pestnet Group in 2016 and now act as distributors inItaly, France and Spain. Founded in 1960, Kollant was acquired in2006 by Makhteshim Agan Industries (now Adama). Havingconcentrated on consumer and household products since theacquisition, Adama has recently decided to renew its activity withinthe pest control sector. As is the way with these companies, Adamais now owned by ChemChina, the company who recently acquiredSyngenta. Maybe no more said?

A second cluster of firms reside not far from Bologna. Colkim,founded in 1964 by Giorgio Albertazzi also started manufacturingrodenticides and insecticides. Today the business is run by hisdaughter and son, Susanna and Carlo.

Interestingly two of the other nearby companies owe theirfoundations to a completely different route. Bleu Line, now theB.L. Group, was founded in Forlì in 1982 by Attilio Bazzocchi andtoday is managed by his son Giovanni with Gloria Padovani.

Prior to this the operation had actually been one of the first pestcontrol servicing companies, founded in 1974 – Pest Control Italiana– but that was sold to Rentokil in 1996 – their very first acquisitionin Europe. Readers with good memories will recall this timingcoincided with the banning of any further acquisitions in the UK bythe Monopolies & Mergers Commission. As managing director,Giovanni explains: “We now have more than 40 people in thecompany and whilst our Italian home market is very strong in thisniche pest control business, we aim to be more professional andextend our product range, not only in Italy but overseas viaB.Line Export.”

Just north of Bologna and based in Modena is the OSD Group.Again the company originated with the acquisition of a pest controlcompany in 1980. From these foundations, owners DanielaPedrazzi with her husband Paolo Gaibotti have built up a thrivinghome and export business, based largely on bird control products,but also rodenticides and insecticides. The future looks rosy, asDaniela explains: “We are widening our business further, thanks tothe acquisition in October 2017 of Ferbi, a biocides manufacturingcompany located in Abruzzo.”

Completing this triangle around Milan is GEA. Founded in 1986 bycurrent CEO Giuseppe Braghieri and supported by his son Adrianoas general manager, the company makes a range of pest controlproducts for both the professional market with the InPest brand andunder the InVerde brand, for the retail sector. GEA makes a point ofhighlighting its strict production philosophy, as Adriano details:“All products are entirely manufactured in Italy. Our raw materialsuppliers are well known to us and so we can assure our customersof our product's quality, from start to finish.”

Also in Milan is Copyr who supply a range of professional products.Founded in 1961, the organisation became part of the SpanishZelnova Zeltia group in 2006, itself part of the Spanishpharmaceuticals company, PharmaMar.

Not to be overlooked, but to the west of Milan and based in Turin isyet another family firm, ORMA run by the father and son team ofFrancesco and Salvatore Mangogna. They, likewise, produce arange of pest control products with emphasis on aerosols and airpurification products.

Servicing heritage

Bird expertise

Husband and wife team at OSD Group, Paolo Gaibotti andDaniela Pedrazzi

At the B.L. Group, chairman Giovanni Bazzocchi (left) with exportsales director, Stefano Scarponi

Brother and sister team at INDIA – Debora and Giovanni Cazzaro

At GEA, Adriano Braghieri works alongside his father, Giuseppe, whofounded the company

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Whilst in Rome it was a pleasure to meet the team from the company Dog Bed Bugs. Theuse of bed bug detection dogs in Italy has not taken-off as much as it has in other Europeancountries. At present, there are only three teams offering this service – in Rome, Turin andMilan. But Milan-based Dog Bed Bugs, owned by Matteo Lanciano and Ita Galasso, is theone and only certified unit.

Having previously worked for Colkim, Matteo has plenty of experience in the industry andtrained two of his own dogs (Nena and Megan) to act as bed bug detection dogs, butneither was officially certified. So, accompanied by his partner, Ita Galasso, they took thebrave step, not to mention big investment, of coming to England to gain certification forthemselves and to acquire a specially selected and trained English springer spaniel, Alfie.

The pair spent over a month training with the National Association of Security Dog Users(NASDU) based in Surrey. Interestingly, NASDU not only trains bed bug detection dogs butalso rodent detector dogs. Matteo and Ita plan to return to NASDU in the near future toacquire a second dog to work alongside Alfie.

And equipmentmanufacturers too....The family link also extends to themanufacturers of spraying equipment.

How this equipment is used differs from theUK norm. Visit any Italian pest controlexhibition and you are struck by the size ofthe machines on display.

Unlike the UK, Italian pest controlcompanies cover vector control, treatment ofrubbish areas, ornamental trees and greencare – uses we would consider more thepreserve of the landscape and amenitymarket – so larger equipment is required.

Market leader is Tifone who started out in1955, initially with agricultural typemachines but have expanded into publichealth with a range of hydraulic, electro-static, ULV and thermal fogging sprayers.

In 1958 another sprayer manufacturerbegan, Martignani. Claudio Martignani wasfascinated by all things mechanical, a traitClaudio acquired from his father, Angelo,who owned a bicycle and motorbike hiringand repair shop.

But from bikes and then Porsche dieseltractors, Claudio took the business inanother direction as he recognised thebenefits of using pneumatic ULV sprayers,resulting from a joint initiative with expertDutch plant pathologists dating back to1946. In 1981 the company was the first inEurope to introduce electrostatic sprayingsystems. Today Martignani mist blowers are

widely used in Italy and in over 70 countriesworldwide. Founder's son and nowmanaging director, Stefano Martignaniexplains: “Today 80% of our sales go to theagricultural market and 20% to publichealth. Pick-up vehicle mounted ULVsprayers and thermal foggers along withelectrostatic back pack sprayers are ourmain public health products with sales inEurope (mainly Italy, France and Spain) plusNorth Africa and the Middle & Far East.”

The other key player in the machinerymarket is Spray Team. Founded in 1995 by

brothers Gianni and Fabrizio Bergamini withassociate Dino Mazzacurati, it too is basedin the same northern Italian area nearFerrara.

Spray Team manufacturers both agriculturaland public health atomizer sprayers.Roughly half their sales go to the Italianmarket with the balance sold internationally.“Turkey, Morocco, France, Romania andBulgaria are significant markets for us now,”explains sales director, Mauro Bergamini,the son of Giannni, who is carrying on thefamily tradition.

Stefano Martignani, son of founder, Claudio Mauro Bergamini, son of founder Gianni

Certified to detect bed bugs in Italy

From Dog Bed Bugs: Matteo Lanciano andIta Galasso with Alfie

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A further factor that undoubtedly leads tothe 'family feel' within ANID is its chiefexecutive, Sergio Urizio, who has been atthe helm since the association began21 years ago.

This continuity of leadership certainlyprovides stability, although Sergio is far toomodest to claim the credit. This stability isalso reflected in the ANID membership. Ofthe 40 initial company members at thelaunch of ANID, 30 are still members.

Looking to the future, Sergio sees a

buoyant market for pest control servicing inItaly. Not only has the general demand forpest control services grown, but last yearthe Italian Government, in line with EUlegislation, altered the law regardingprivate tendering for public contracts. Thismakes the tendering process easier,allowing for greater participation by morepest control companies.

But this expansion poses problems of itsown – one of standards. Responding to thegrowing market, new players, often comingfrom the cleaning sector who bolt on pestcontrol activities, are entering the servicingmarket. But as with several other Europeancountries, there are no barriers to entry.

Sergio estimates there are roughly 900pest control companies in Italy, of thesearound 350 are ANID members.

“At our last executive board meeting wepassed applications from a further 25potential members,” explains Sergio, “butthere are concerns generally regarding the

training of technicians. We currently have120 EN 166636 Certified companies, ofthese 68 are CEPA Certified too. BeingCEPA Certified adds value, but our aim isto achieve a 'trained professional'category – only these professionals willbe able to access the full range ofbiocides in Europe.”

Continuity in leadership

Sergio Urizio has led the Association sinceit’s inception, 21 years ago

As ever in the EU the implementation ofregulation varies by country.

When it comes to rodenticides all countrieshave signed up to the principle of reducingthe environmental impact of anticoagulantrodenticide use.

Readers will recall that the background to allthis is also an EU-wide understanding that, ifthere were alternatives, then none of theanticoagulants would be approved foroutdoor use.

So it was very interesting to hear apresentation at this ANID conferencedetailing the approach in Italy.

In the UK our industry’s response, at therequest of the regulator, the Health & SafetyExecutive, has been to develop a voluntarysolution, namely the UK RodenticideStewardship Regime, which has justproduced its second annual report (seepage 10-11 in this issue).

In Italy it's fair to say things have progressedmore slowly.

Last year at the Italian Disinfestando eventthere was plenty of discussion on thissubject. In Rome this year it returned, butnow with more clarity.

Whilst no evidence of secondary wildlifepoisoning has been found in Italy (maybe

because no-one has looked for it hardenough?) eight risk mitigation measureshave now been identified.

Some, such as changes to pack size and thereductions in product concentrationfollowing the toxic to reproductionclassification i.e. adding the exploding heartsymbol on professional strength products,are common across Europe.

One big difference between the UK andItaly is the adoption of three user types as ameans of reducing the risks associated withrodenticide use.

Three different categories of users have beenidentified at EU level. These are specified inthe most recent approvals for the eightanticoagulant active substances which weregranted for seven years from 26 July 2017(see : August & September 2017).

Maristella Rubbiani from the IstitutoSuperiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome explainedwhat these three groups, with their Italiandefinitions, are:

(what we would callamateurs) – people who use rodenticidesoccasionally in a private capacity;

– people who userodenticides in the course of their work,for example in agriculture, animalhusbandry, retailers and in foodmanufacture, packaging, warehousing,distribution and sale;

– people who usebiocides in the course of their work aspest managers/controllers.

Italy is not unique in following thisclassification of user types. The Republic ofIreland, for example, has also adopted this

approach. In Ireland this led to theintroduction, from 1 January 2018, of alicensing requirement for pest managementprofessionals to clearly identify those whoare trained professionals.

So what is the difference between aprofessional and a trained professional?

Maristella explains: “In Italy there are threeactivities that only trained professionals areallowed to do. Firstly, the use of bait incovered and protected bait points, ratherthan bait stations, so burrow baiting forexample. Ordinary professionals must usebait stations. Secondly, use bait in sewersand at landfill sites i.e. in more 'open areas'Ordinary professionals can only use baitsindoors and around the perimeter ofbuildings. And, thirdly, use the technique ofpermanent baiting. There is however aproviso. Trained professionals must not useproducts containing brodifacoum inpermanent bating programmes.”

Pest 52

General public

Professionals

Trained professionals

Type of user

Spot the difference

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In Italy,theexplodingheartsymbolis knownratherlessemotivelyas'spiderman'

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The future for rodenticides in Italy

Maristella Rubbiani from ISS