Our history

La Minerva di Chiodini Mario was founded by Mario Chiodini in Bologna, a city traditionally renowned for mechanical and motoring expertise. A mechanic, blacksmith, artist and inventor, he named the company Minerva after the goddess of intelligence: as he said, “There can be no business without intelligence….”. Mario Chiodini first set up in Via dal Parco producing catering equipment, immediately offering a high quality range with an excellent quality/price/duration ratio. Determined and entrepreneurial, he was joined by his wife Maria and their daughter Franca Chiodini, a promising young tennis player and the company's current muse.

Italy slowly begins its economic recovery following the Second World War. Minerva needs new premises. Larger and more suitable headquarters are located nearby. Hand-drawn carts are used to make the move. Commercial expectations are high, because the first signs of what would become the “economic miracle” are already visible.  La Minerva's reliable new products are soon recognised in Italy and abroad. The company begins exporting and attending trade shows around the world. Mario Chiodini, with his workforce, continues to grow the business, teaching mechanics to unemployed youngsters on the lookout for work.   Some of them work for La Minerva for decades until retirement; others go on to set up their own businesses. But all acknowledge Mario as being a great mentor. The team is joined by Franca's husband, Franco Salati, who takes care of the administrative and commercial side of the business.

Rapid economic expansion changes the lives and habits of the population at all social levels. Businesses also change. The first supermarkets open, while small retailers such as butchers and delicatessens strive to improve relations with their customers. La Minerva needs new premises and new machines in order to produce more quickly and cope with the rising demand for equipment and machines for processing meat and other food. It moves to new headquarters in Via Massarenti, logistically closer to the Bologna ring road, where it stays until 2003.

La Minerva di Chiodini Mario grows. Franca and her husband Franco are joined by their daughter Elisabetta and sons Andrea and Daniele, with a variety of duties and skills.  The company moves towards a new and constant transformation process with the purchase of modern new numerical control machine tools and the design of new types of systems. The first refrigerated mincer is created with consumers' health in mind.

Strong entrepreneurial leadership and a market-led managerial mindset lead La Minerva to acquire and incorporate several competitors: first Artex of Bologna, then Omega, the owner of other long-standing and globally renowned brands such as CEG, General Machine, Regina, and Suprema.  Construction begins on new 5,000 m2 covered premises in Roveri's industrial area, Bologna's largest and one of Italy's major industrial estates.

In 2012, “Minerva Omega Group” is officially established, now managed by the second and third generation of the Chiodini family. The merger of the long-standing expertise of La Minerva and Omega Foodtech marks not only the union of two Italian centers of excellence in food processing equipment, but also the beginning of a new entrepreneurial journey—solid, forward-looking, and internationally oriented. This new corporate structure enhances technical know-how, industrial organization, and the commercial network, enabling the Group to offer a complete and integrated range of solutions for food transformation, grounded in continuity and innovation.

Minerva Omega Group welcomes GAM International, a historic Italian company specializing in professional equipment for the hospitality and foodservice industry. This strategic acquisition further strengthens the Group’s vision: offering an even broader, more versatile and synergistic range of solutions for those who work with passion in the food world. GAM’s compact, robust, and efficient technologies integrate seamlessly with the Group’s mission: combining manufacturing tradition, continuous innovation, and customer care. A decisive step in consolidating international presence and addressing the evolving needs of the market.

Minerva Omega Group celebrates 80 years of activity: an important milestone that confirms the company’s strength, capacity for evolution, and value-driven consistency. Founded in 1945, the Group has become a global benchmark in the field of food preparation and processing. Eighty years of innovation, strong relationships with clients, suppliers, and partners, and hands-on expertise. Each machine produced reflects a part of this long journey, marked by technical precision, respect for raw materials, and a vision for the future. This anniversary is not a conclusion, but a new beginning towards even more ambitious goals.