Ciao Mauro Zazzini
Published: ASIA
WORLD: FBT director of operations Bruno Tanoni proudly explains that the family owned company is actually a family in itself. He’s correct. We have just witnessed an emotional send off to a gentleman in our business who dedicated 35 years of his working life to the FBT cause on the world stage. Mauro Zazzini chose to step down as export manager at the 2011 Frankfurt Pro Light & Sound exhibition and is surrounded by his closest work colleagues, distributors, press and other industry associates who can proudly say that they have known his acquaintance.
It’s a fitting tribute to a great man who will be sadly missed on the trade show circuit. Having pledged his career to the FBT cause, he played a pivotal role in ensuring that the manufacturer grew in the Marche region where many renowned traditional musical instrument manufacturers such as Bontempi, Elka, Farfisa and General Music have largely disappeared or been acquired during his working life.
Fellow sales manager Paolo Ricci has worked closely with Mr Zazzini for 33 of those 35 years and finds it hard to complete his speech as he is overcome by the emotion of the occasion. After all, their working relationship has outlasted most marriages. Al Stewart was singing The Year of the Cat and the Eagles had just released Hotel California when Mr Zazzini first punched his time card in. Long before the PC world we live in, Mr Zazzini relied on a typewriter, whilst both the telephone and telex were the only real communications of choice for international trade.
Roberto Mataloni started his export management career at FBT in 1990 and looked up to Mr Zazzini as his mentor. ‘Mauro has represented FBT throughout the world for a very long time,’ comments Mr Mataloni. ‘He successfully balanced sales activities, exhibitions, client visits and marketing. He taught me all aspects of this job with his remarkable generosity and a positive approach, explaining all matters relating to export and offering important tips that in turn have helped me enormously. Together with my colleagues Luigi Paoloni, Paolo Ricci and Antonio Faccioni, we are all moved.’
Co-owner and director Mauro Tanoni credited Mr Zazzini for the dedication and commitment he had given FBT over the four decades: ‘Mauro’s very professional and dedicated manner coupled with the fantastic results he has consistently achieved and the building and management of the export team has taken FBT to the highest possible peak. His shoes will never be filled and we are going to really miss his presence at the office and factory in Recanati.’
But the last word fell to the departing Mr. Zazzini: ‘To describe 35 years at FBT in a few minutes is really difficult and far too emotional. After all, I spent more time with this company than I have with my wife. In the first year when I started the export business on my own, we turned over around 350 million Lire, which is around €150,000. But the company has grown incredibly, especially over the past 10 years, thanks to the new innovative ideas that the second generation of FBT owners have introduced. FBT’s exports have achieved a strategic importance and FBT products are now distributed in 70 countries worldwide.’