Interview: Franco Goglio

Sophie and Madeleine had the pleasure of meeting Dottore Franco Goglio in October 2025 for an interview.

Madeleine Royere: First of all, really thank you for accepting to be interviewed by us, we feel honoured. Could you introduce, talk about yourself, your career, how it all started for you and also a bit about Goglio’s history, as it is a long one, 175 years.

Franco Goglio: Goglio was founded in 1850 by Carlo Goglio, my great grandfather, who began producing pre-folded paper bags and boxes, entirely by hand. They were used to package coffee beans, sugar, and other goods.

 My grandfather, Luigi Goglio, later imported the first automated machine from Germany, during the era of industrialisation. A few years later, World War 1 broke out. After the war ended, the company resumed operations.  By 1921, it had become a thriving business, with increasing workloads and growing mechanisation. In 1927 my grandfather expanded the factory.

Then came World War 2. In 1943, the city of Milan suffered heavy bombing, and the factory was seriously damaged, though not completely destroyed.

After WW2 ended in 1945, my father put new machines in an abandoned church and restarted production under difficult conditions. Electricity was often unavailable, so they used a belt-driven system to keep the machines running. By 1946, they were already operating at full capacity.

The invention of polypropylene by Professor Giulio Natta revolutionized the packaging industry.  This required developing machines with sophisticated technology capable of handling plastic fibres with precise tension and temperature controls.  Electronic applications began to be integrated into machinery.

Goglio also pioneered oxygen-extraction packaging. In 1962 they developed the first vacuum packing application, which they called the Fres-co System®. This marked the beginning of a new era. 

In the 1970s the company began planning the building of a new factory. Foundations were laid in 1982 and the following year they commenced operations. The company continued serving coffee customers for whom they had developed a special valve, a system letting coffee to de-gas preventing at the same time oxygen entrance. Their innovation grew exponentially, guided by the principle “Your vision has to be big.”

Now, 175 years later, the company endures, and we have some strong beliefs. ”A company’s strength lies in its people.” “To move forward, you need to look to the future, not to the past.” “In order to achieve anything, you must believe.” “You have to tackle problems and solve them.”

See the Youtube video made in 2020 for the 170 anniversary of Goglio

What is your Vision for tomatoes?

As we saw, our international expansion began in the 1960s. 

We first attempted to cross the Alps, to serve France and Belgium with coffee packaging. It wasn’t easy. At that time our focus was exclusively on coffee. 

Then we wanted to cross the Atlantic. America seemed like paradise to Europeans.

In America, all coffee was sold in metal cans. We arrived with flexible packaging which was revolutionary for them. We approached the most important customers and presented our product. This was in the early 1970s. By the end of the decade, we found interested customers, Maxell House and Procter & Gamble, through one of the sister companies. They purchased our machines and packaging. However, they required us to have a manufacturing plant in the US. So in 1983 we opened our first American factory.

At that time, we experienced significant growth with coffee representing about 85% of our turnover. But then rumours emerged that coffee could cause cancer. What should we do? 

I met Mr Hellenberg, a German engineer, working for Star, a famous Italian tomato company, based in the food valley of Parma. Together, we conceived the idea of packaging tomatoes. How could we pack processed tomatoes? We studied the issue together and produced drum bags with a 220-liter capacity. We also began building the first filling lines and the first bags. 

Around the same time, I met Mr Scholle, who had the same idea in California, aiming to serve the processors there. He came from a different industry. We met again at the beginning of the 2000s when he came here and said he wanted to buy the factory. I replied that I thought he had come to sell his company! Scholle was a family business at that time. We both had the idea of entering China together, as the Chinese market was booming. So we joined forces to tackle this new market. In 2004/2005, we established an Italian company controlled by Goglio, which then founded a Chinese subsidiary. We built a plant in China and installed the first bag-making machines. It was a joint venture with Scholle. Unfortunately, Scholle’s family exited the business and Goglio took over and continued forward.

Our global reach has increased year by year; we now cover the entire globe. 

The plant in China is still operational, serving the Asian market, and also providing back-up capacity during peak season.

In the 1980s, we had a very interesting contact in India. They had problems with mangoes. They grew them but did not process them, resulting in enormous waste. We began supplying them with special bags with aluminium foil to guarantee the necessary oxygen barrier for this product and that environment. India was then able to start exporting aseptically processed mangoes to the USA and around the world. This is how the mango business began. With our special bags you can preserve mangoes for 3 years with no need for a cold chain.

So, from coffee to tomato to mango, what’s next? 

Every year we add new products. For instance, we have a growing business with coconuts: coconut water, coconut milk, dairy products, ice cream. Ice cream base is normally frozen, but now it can be processed aseptically. The advantage for the ice cream maker is that they can use it immediately, whereas frozen base takes up to 23h to defrost. Many companies are starting to use aseptic ice cream base, because it’s available instantly. You can have ice cream ready in 1h instead of the next day.

Aseptically processed food is very sustainable because it saves enormous amounts of energy, you don’t need a cold chain, which is extremely expensive. This technology can therefore be used in less developed countries, which is why we have customers all over the world: in Kenya, Mali, India, everywhere. 

Once we understood the requirements of the aseptic processing industry, we decided to fulfil customer needs in a different way: by providing full control of the production process, with machines designed and manufactured by us specifically for these products. 

We have a machinery plant near Pavia, where we produce our own machinery. The same is for the fitments and spouts for our bags produced in Daverio plant. We are also able to design specific closures or meet any specific requirements. We can respond quickly because we have the technology in-house.

I believe it’s a great strategy, not only to provide the bags, but also the machines that go with them. In this way, you can truly fulfil customer requirements.

After we started producing aseptic bags in drum sizes, we also began producing larger bags, for 1,000kg and 1,600 kg. We also developed the Bag in Box format and, from there, the machines to produce bags for the food service and hospitality industry. These latter are based on a different technical approach, from 500ml to 10 litres; those are the sizes our machines are specialised in.

These machines are very easy to operate, and they were specially designed for difficult environmental working conditions (temperatures, humidity…).

Do you know what percentage of your business is done with the tomato?

Aseptic represents about 22% (between 20 and 25, depending on the year) of our business and 40% of this aseptic business is tomato. We also handle mangoes, pumpkin, pesto and other products.

As far as tomato is concerned, there are different processing techniques, aseptic and others like hot filling. We specialize in both. We have aseptic filling lines and hot filling lines. Some customers prefer hot filling. It depends also on what the customer wants to do. For large bags, it is always aseptic. For small bags, in food service, some customers prefer hot fill and some prefer aseptic.

and coffee is still more than 45%, still a big business for you!

Yes, and in recent years we also expanded in South America, in Brazil.

Brazil is a big market for flexible packaging. 10-15 years ago, you could already see tomato products in flexible packaging in Brazil, but not yet in Europe.

That’s because new markets usually start with the latest technology. In Italy, we started a hundred years ago, and we still had cans for a long time. We are now very present with our solutions. But newer market can start with the latest innovation. 

You combine Innovation, Technology and Savings. So you use the most advanced technology available. Mr Goglio stresses the importance of service, providing the right service to the customer, and supporting them throughout the entire relationship. You first have to organise Service. So in your strategy, Service comes first, then Sales, then Production. 

Could you talk about your biggest challenge in your long career, and your biggest success?

The biggest challenge has always been innovation. Up until the 1950s, Goglio was working with paper. Then came an innovation: plastic. We were lucky because in Italy there was the Montecatini company with Professor Natta, who invented polypropylene. We strongly believed in this new technology, and we began the production of flexible packaging. It was revolutionary. My father strongly believed in this, but I had 2 uncles who didn’t. It was easier to process paper than plastic, because plastic stretched and elongated, it wasn’t so easy to handle. 

Then we had the innovation of vacuum packaging, especially for coffee and particularly for certain markets. 

Innovation is extremely important. In 1968 we had another important innovation: the degassing valve. It was a revolution in coffee packaging. We discovered this while working with Mr Pericle Lavazza, a chemical engineer. Coffee, after roasting, contains a lot of gas, which can rupture the packaging. We found a way to evacuate this excess of gas through the valve. Through this innovation, we were able to secure as a client a company which later became the major coffeehouse in the USA

You said the biggest challenge is innovation. Where does innovation come from? From inside or outside the company?

Innovation comes from deep knowledge, that’s why we are very vertically integrated. We produce our own adhesives, our inks, everything. You need deep knowledge of what you are doing, including the packaging lines and the technology. For instance, we have the fastest machine for coffee packaging: we can pack 160 kg of coffee per minute in retail bags. In addition to that, you have to be able to listen to the needs of the customers. Maybe they don’t even know what they need but you have to listen carefully and discover it.

I believe there is another ingredient as well: believing. That’s fundamental.

Yes, that’s the first one, that’s the basis for everything.

Innovation always has drawbacks, difficulties. You cannot go around difficulties. But if you are able to overcome them, then they become experience.

The mistake of Europe nowadays is targeting investments that have an immediate return. But when you outsource, industry becomes poorer, you lose expertise, because you do not invest in people.

And what you do here is invest for the future, even if it’s not an immediate future, you invest in people.

 Exactly. This is why we have destroyed our economy. Emerging countries have learned, because we outsourced our knowledge.

This started in the USA, they had the advantage of not having experienced World War 1 and 2. There, technology kept growing, even during the war years, whereas in Europe we couldn’t grow. But then they lost a lot of technology, they invested heavily in finance but lost knowledge. They outsourced extensively and preferred to work in finance for immediate returns.

In packaging, for instance, the technology of stretch film and bioriented film was born in the USA, as was polyethylene extrusion. Everything was first developed in the US, but nowadays they don’t develop anything anymore. Thin aluminium foil was also developed in the USA, and now they have abandoned it and need to import it. This has become a huge problem, especially with trade barriers and duties.

For the tomato processing industry, what do you think are the most important technological innovations?

We always need to look at the economic aspect of the business and evaluate it carefully. That’s why we also developed very large packaging formats for the processing industry, for the BtoB business, so you can save on transport costs. And we created the possibility to transfer the product aseptically, without loss and without breaking the aseptic conditions, so that the customer does not need to reprocess the product when they need it. We use a special valve that maintains aseptic conditions. This is one of our solutions, it’s also an advantage in terms of organoleptic qualities of the product.

What about recyclability and the new European legislation?

There are currently some challenges linked to the new legislation, partly because it may not fully reflect the practical realities of the market.

Initially, the intention was for packaging to be reused to produce new packaging for the same product. However, we operate under very strict regulations regarding potential contamination of films, and these standards must be carefully respected. For this reason, reusing materials for the exact same application can sometimes be complex.

It could be helpful to encourage the EU to consider reuse for different applications as well. Plastic can be reprocessed in various ways. For example, in our R&D department we reuse waste materials and production scraps to create other products. One example is the core of a reel, but this type of recycled material can also be used to manufacture many everydayitems. We already produce several products through this approach.

An effective system would require proper collection and reuse of waste materials for alternative applications. It is also important to consider the energy factor: since plastic is derived from petroleum, it contains significant energy value. In this context, chemical recycling could offer interesting opportunities, for example by separating the different layers of film.

It may also be worth considering a distinction in regulations between retail and industrial products, as they serve different purposes and operate under different conditions.

Finally, it is important to keep the overall perspective in mind. When evaluating packaging, we should compare it to the content it protects. For example, a bag containing 1,600 litres of product weighs less than 2 kilos, meaning the packaging represents only a very small proportion of the total system.