Vertical and sustainable agriculture, both economically and environmentally. This is the intuition of Thomas Ambrosi, CEO of Ono Exponential Farming and Tor.Mec Ambrosi, he was able to take the direction in which the world is moving. The idea earned him the Verona Giovani Award 2019. The award, given in recent days by the Youth Group of Apindustria Confimi Verona, awarded the entrepreneur for having distinguished himself in his professional field, interpreting the spirit of growth in the best possible way, challenge and search for new horizons.
“This year the Verona Giovani Award focused on the theme of sustainability as a balance between economic, social and environmental priorities,” explained the president of the Youth Group of Apindustria, Michele Ghibellini. «For us entrepreneurs, doing business means reconciling economic results with people’s well-being and responsible management of resources in compliance with future generations. We cannot achieve sustainability if we think, analyze or worse develop a theme individually, “he added. «There are eleven years left to the so-called“ point of no return ”, or rather to contain the increase in the global average temperature below 2° C. Our responsibility now is to set up a new climate economy. It is really time to act responsibly ».
The Prize won is the result of teamwork, said the award winner: “A winning and dynamic team that sees very young and experienced collaborators aimed at improving products and the impact they have on the environment. “Sustainability is the vision of the company in the economic part, in the marketing and product strategy”, commented Ambrosi. Based in San Giovanni Lupatoto, Ono Exponential Farming is a start-up that has bet on an innovative model of “vertical agriculture” that does not consume the soil and reduces water and energy consumption. It is based on the use of vertical metal shelving modules that have revolutionized the concept of greenhouses: they find space in buildings intended for cultivation allowing for widespread and intensive agriculture, thanks also to the automated control of light, water and nourishment. With the elimination and containment of the unpredictability related to traditional crops, for example weather conditions or plant diseases. The start-up, in the first round of capital increase, raised 1 million euro with a value of over 20 million.
Ambrosi was also able to develop and grow Tor.Mec Ambrosi, ranking 390th in the special classification drawn up by the Financial Times FT1000 for the world’s fastest growing businesses between 2014 and 2017 (the last public budget deposited ). It is a completely Italian owned company, at the forefront in the field of automatic machines for the production of jeans and work clothes. He collaborates with the largest multinationals in the sector (from Brother to Mitsubishi and Seiko) with a division that manufactures and markets modular automatic warehouses; one that deals with automotive metrology and recently an IT and electronic development division to support company activities. It grew by 420% in the three-year period under review, reaching a production value of 13 million in 2018 and over 60 collaborators involved between direct and indirect.