Pet Personality of the Year

"It has been the custom for some years now to recognise high-calibre personalities in the international pet product industry for their service and life's work at the International Pet Conference with the coveted PET Personality of the Year Award," said Ralf Majer-Abele, managing editor of the two trade magazines pet and PET worldwide, to the assembled guests at the evening function following the first day of the conference. "In presenting an award for the PET Personality of the Year, we want to remind everyone that the pet business is driven not only by money and by private equity, but also by the spirit and the ideas of individuals."
The sense of anticipation in the hall was palpable. Who would pick up the sought-after award this year? Ralf Majer-Abele relieved the tension by announcing that "The award goes this year to Ferplast. PET worldwide wants to recognise the achievements of the company's founder Carlo Vaccari." He added that the decision was based on the company's ongoing success story, as Ferplast celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

Ferplast has developed over the years from a small, regionally active cage manufacturer to a globally popular producer and supplier of high-quality pet products. "The way in which Carlo Vaccari and his wife Caterina have succeeded in building a small firm up into one of the world's foremost pet accessories manufacturers deserves our highest respect," declared Ralf Majer-Abele. He highlighted the remarkable achievement of the Vaccari family in not only being able to maintain but also extend the leading position of Ferplast, in spite of a tough market environment.

In his acceptance speech, Ferplast managing director Nicola Vaccari stressed that nearly 90 per cent of the company's 4 000 or so products are manufactured in Europe. "This enables us to retain control over every aspect of the production process as a whole," he added. Nicola Vaccari expressed his thanks to his partners and customers, many of whom were present at the International Pet Conference.