Cantina Sgarzi

Founded in 1933 in the countryside of Castel San Pietro Terme, a small hillside town near the city of Bologna, Cantine Sgarzi produces around 45 million litres of DOCG, DOC and IGT wines each year, made in Italy’s most important regions and exported to over 80 countries worldwide. A constant evolution, driven by the dedication and passion of a family now in its fourth generation, currently led by Stefano Sgarzi and his wife Nadia.

Around the picturesque house and the original winery, modern production facilities have been developed over time, designed to integrate with the surrounding environment and combine innovation with respect for the rules of Italy’s great winemaking traditions. Tradition and innovation coexist: the winery is equipped with advanced machinery that allows the winemaker to enhance every grape and ensure a high-quality winemaking process.

To overcome the limitations of outsourcing, both in terms of quality and production, Cantine Sgarzi choses Omnia Technologies as a strategic partner, relying on a single point of contact capable of providing a complete and integrated line. The collaboration that startedat the end of 2023, enabled the creation of a state-of-the-art bottling plant, thanks to the cross-disciplinary expertise and know-how of the group’s brands.

“We chose Omnia Technologies for their ability to deliver a fully integrated, turnkey plant, with strong synergy between design, assembly and commissioning,” says Stefano Sgarzi. “Their attention to after-installation support and service was also a decisive factor.”

Through technologies from Innotec (microfiltration), Bertolaso (bottling and conveying), Nortan (wire-hooding and capping), Z-Italia (labelling) and APE (packaging), Cantine Sgarzi aims to reach 25 million bottles and 50 million cans by 2026. And for the future? “Our goal is to expand into international markets, particularly the United States and Europe, with a strong focus on dealcoholisation technologies, which we have been able to test and refine thanks to Omnia Technologies,” adds Sgarzi.

Omnia Technologies has stood out as a trusted advisor, managing the entire project through a single point of contact and rapidly developing a tailor-made solution, also integrating equipment supplied directly by the customer. The collaboration between the engineering offices of the group’s brands, coordinated by Bertolaso, allowed optimisation of space, ergonomics and processes.

Bertolaso’s decades of experience in filling carbonated products, such as sparkling wines at ambient temperature, enabled significant savings in terms of space, energy costs and environmental impact, removing the need for a thermoconditioning tunnel. This resulted in savings both in terms of investment and environmental impact – as such equipment is usually energy-intensive, using large amounts of water and energy to heat bottles, and equally high volumes of chemicals for cleaning.

Deep knowledge of the technologies provided by Omnia Technologies led to reduced space requirements, improved machine ergonomics, and a 50% reduction in the staff needed to operate the plant, from six to three operators. Standardised components, communication protocols and cleaning recipes made effective pre-commissioning and a rapid start-up possible.

Today the plant produces around 120,000 bottles and 240,000 cans per day, with 90% efficiency. The supervision system communicates with the winery’s MES, providing real-time data on production, quality, maintenance and OEE, supporting continuous improvement.

“The design, presentation and management of the project with Cantine Luigi Sgarzi were completed in just 70 days. This achievement demonstrates the real value of having a single partner: an end-to-end trusted advisor like Omnia Technologies, capable of guiding the customer through every phase, from design to commissioning and service, with a genuinely one-stop-shop approach,” emphasises Luca Carassi, Key Account Manager at Omnia Technologies.