Moreno Cavalli

"Initially, he gets his hands on them himself. Moreno Cavalli, a chemical expert, says: “Mr. Michele was a man who strongly combined the knowledge of raw materials with the knowledge of machines. He did not buy a machine to use it as it was designed. He disassembled it, added other parts, and built a complex Ferrero machine. Many of the machines that are still there now had been adapted years ago. And he wanted all of us to know well the machines that were in action in the factory.” This passion is evident from his own words: "What do you want, I've always been particularly fascinated by machinery. When I see it moving, it seems to me that it has a soul, like a person. If you've been to the Alba plant you will have noticed that kind of automatic milking machine that fills the little plastic boxes with spreadable chocolate. It closes them, seals them, packs them to be shipped… well, that machine turns out twenty-two thousand boxes like that every hour. Isn't it a wonder?""

"In 1982, Michele Ferrero launched what is today the world's best-selling chocolate: the Ferrero Rocher. To name this praline (he calls it a "little pastry"), wrapped in a pharaonic golden foil and advertised with the famous commercial featuring the chauffeur Ambrogio and the noblewoman craving something tasty, Ferrero didn't rely on any brainstorming sessions. He found the name himself, taking it from the Roc de Massabielle, the cave at Lourdes where the Virgin Mary appeared to the shepherdess Bernadette, a destination for both personal and company pilgrimages. The spherical shape of the fine chocolate reflects the shape of the cave: it is the hazelnut pieces that cover the shell, along with the milk chocolate coating that envelops the toasted hazelnut, that recall the protrusions of the rock. Michele himself is the creator of the complicated machine that produces the Rocher. Moreno Cavalli, a former chemical expert at Ferrero, says, "The robot was the result of a long transformation achieved with his favorite technique: Mr. Michele did not buy a machine and use it as it was, but he would add a piece here and a piece there until he achieved the desired purpose. For this reason, he invited us, the employees, to go look at machines displayed at fairs and markets to see if we could identify new components for Ferrero. 'And when a visitor enters the factory, never leave them alone in front of the machines, they could copy them,' was his recommendation.""