Bindi, Italian dessert-maker and exporter, to build U.S. plant

Bindi, maker of Italian and European desserts—baked and frozen--since 1946, has been exporting to the United States for more than a decade. Now, the company is building its first U.S. plant on New Jersey soil, in Belleville.

The plant will join existing U.S. company-owned warehouses and seven regional distribution centers operating as Bindi North America, a subsidiary of the Italian company. The company also has relationships with approximately 20 foodservice distributors in major cities.

"The past three years have seen a very fast pace of growth, and we believe now is the time to invest and plan for the future," according to Attilio Bindi, president of the American subsidiary. Construction on the new, 30,000-sqft plant, in Belleville, NJ, is expected to begin this fall and be complete by summer 2001.

Bindi curerently ships products to all five continents from its 600-employee plant outside Milan, Italy. Products include cakes, gelato, sorbetto, frutti ripieni, dessert pastries, croissants, pizza, focaccia, cassata, semifreddi, tartufi and dessert sauces.

Startup will begin with a modest about-30 employees producing gelato and sorbetto based on Bindi's original Italian recipes, in bulk and individual portions for the foodservice trade. Other production capabilities might be added in the future.

Manufacturing capacity will be 200 gallons per hour and the products will be distributed nationally by a Bindi subsidiary, Dessert Services, Inc. of Totowa, NJ, exclusive importers/distributors of Bindi products in North America.

Rino Bindi, managing director of the parent company, took pride in his "exceptional quality desserts" and noted that "product quality will be exactly the same as in Italy. Key personnel from the United States will be sent to Italy for training and quality control and technical supervisors will be sent from Italy to New Jersey. Ingredients will have to meet the same high standards, and certain ones, such as lemon juice, will be imported."

Edited by Bob Sperber,
VerticalNet Food and Packaging Group