The Rise and Decline of a Large Company: Polenghi Lombardo

Polenghi Lombardo has long been a major protagonist in the development of the dairy industry in Italy. Although it was not a cooperative, since its origin in late nineteenth century it was strongly linked to the Lombard and Italian agriculture, even in property and control. Large-scale production, diversification and flexibility – due to a complete exploitation cycle of milk – gave the company strengths superior to those of other producers. This allowed it to expand in Italy and win relevant market shares abroad. The chapter summarizes also the crisis the company had to face with the emergence of a new ownership in the period following the Second World War (when the majority shareholding passed under the control of the main Italian agricultural cooperative group), and then the pressure of foreign competition on the dairy sector due to the European Common Market and the Common Agricultural Policy. In early 1990s the acquisition of the company by competitors with inconsistent industrial strategies determined the gradual downsizing and actual disappearance of Polenghi Lombardo.