“CESCO was created to focus on financing, design, procurement, erection, and commissioning of large industrial grain storage and processing plants, combining the high professional capabilities of the management and employees and taking good care of the customer as is typical for a family-run company. In decades of activity, Luca Celeghini has created a strong team that has gradually collected a vast experience, now transferred to CESCO.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has made us more aware of the critical importance of the grain industry. Countries dependent on imports have been trying to make large grain purchases to guarantee their national food security. Therefore, grain trade shows a substantial growth trend. And industry experts foresee the construction of large industrial grain storage and processing plants in the coming period.
There are a lot of companies in designing and supplying industrial plants for grain logistics, handling, storing and milling systems but German company CESCO EPC GmbH, formerly known as PETKUS Engineering GmbH, is among the leading companies in the sector. Mr. Luca Celeghini and his son Dr. Martino Celeghini are at the helm of the new company. Luca Celeghini serves as President and Martino Celeghini as CEO. Celeghini family is a recognized and prestigious member of the grain technology industry.
Luca Celeghini has transformed PETKUS into one of the largest companies in the industry. After deciding to go individual ways with his partner Mark Scholze, Celeghini now aims to create a new tradename that will focus even more on the design and supply of large industrial plants for grain storage and dry milling for deep processing with a complete portfolio for handling, storing, and processing systems. “Big size storage, bigger conveying capacity, and automatic control are the preconditions to support the market trend, while easy management, limited pollution, and low maintenance are the preconditions for the proper operation. The CESCO team mentality, the smart concept of the design, and the quality of the components are fully oriented to this target,” says Mr. Luca Celeghini. “CESCO is an acronym which stands for CEleghini Smart Concepts,” adds his son Martino Celeghini.
Miller Magazine has engaged in an exclusive interview with Luca Celeghini and Martino Celeghini to learn a bit more about the company’s mission, future plans, and evolution of the industry.
I would like to direct my first question to Mr. Luca Celeghini (LC). You have a successful career. Your company has become a global player in grain logistics, grain and food processing. What triggered your ambition for this inspiring success journey? What is your philosophy as an entrepreneur?
LC: I have been passionate about the design of grain storage silos and handling equipment as basic infrastructure in developing countries since university time, and later as a technical manager, then the managing director in the family company in the early seventies. When I moved to Germany in the nineties as co-investor in the privatization of the former DDR state company PETKUS, I have contributed to modernizing the company structure and expanding its product portfolio with conveying equipment, silos, steel structures, and continuous dryers based on my previous experience and technical knowledge. Finally, taking over the silo manufacturing company SIMEZA in 2016 the challenge was to improve their products to cater to the top level of the market, as well as to develop the industrial design of components and to increase the degree of automatization in manufacturing in order to be competitive with the world leader in the branch. Quality and reliability of the components, as well as the architectural design of the industrial plant, was always the scope of my work, whereas transparency and frank cooperation with colleagues and clients was always my natural attitude.
Petkus has become one of the largest seed and grain technology companies in the world under your and your partner’s leadership. Now, you decided to go individual ways. Why was such a decision needed?
LC: Today’s business runs at high speed and requires strong specialization to deal with complex projects. The original strategic vision and the operative approach dating back to 1994 when I took over PETKUS with my former partner, are no longer valid. The design and the performance of an industrial grain terminal, particularly of a port grain terminal, as well as of a deep processing plant, have little in common with the design and the performance of a seed processing plant, therefore, we decided to split the company accordingly. CESCO was created to focus on financing, design, procurement, erection, and commissioning of large industrial grain storage and processing plants, combining the high professional capabilities of the management and employees and taking good care of the customer as is typical for a family-run company.