The Bolton Group is an Italian

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

that sells products under more than fifty brands.

Overview

The Bolton Groups is a global conglomerate which sells products under more than 50 major brands, primarily consumer goods with a heavy focus on seafood. The majority of their business is food related. They are based in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. As of 2019 they had twelve factories and more than 44 offices.

History

The Bolton Group was founded by Joseph Nissim, a Greek immigrant to Italy. Joseph Nissim was born in 1919 and escaped

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

when the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s invaded Greece. After fleeing Greece he joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and fought with distinction at the battle of El Alamein. He settled in Italy in 1949. He died age 100 in 2019. In 2016 the Bolton Group had €1.96 billion in revenue and €210.8 million in profits. In 2018 Bolton announced that they were adopting a more progressive tuna sourcing policy.

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

had been critical of Bolton's sourcing practices. As a result of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

epidemic sales of the Bolton Group’s canned seafood products boomed in Europe. They are a leading consolidator in the tuna and seafood industries.

Subsidiaries

Tri Marine

Tri Marine is one of the three largest global

tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...

traders along with FCF and

Itochu is a Japanese corporation based in Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka and Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo. It is one of the largest Japanese ''sogo shosha'' (general trading companies). Among Japanese trading companies, it is distinguished by not being descend ...

. Tri Marine is based in Bellevue, Washington and was founded in 1971. In 2019 Tri Marine was sold to the Bolton Group. Tri Marine has more than 5,000 employees and operates 16 purse-seiners. After the sale Tri Marine named Juan Corrales as the new CEO replacing Renato Curto who had held the position for 35 years.

Rio Mare

Rio Mare is an Italian seafood company which is now a Bolton Group brand/subsidiary. In 2017 Rio Mare launched a brand of organic tuna certified by the

Marine Stewardship Council The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organization which aims to set standards for sustainable fishing. Fisheries that wish to demonstrate they are well-managed and sustainable compared to the MSC's standards are assessed by a te ...

. Rio Mare operates a factory in

Cermenate Cermenate ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about south of Como. Cermenate borders the following municipalities: Bregnano, Cantù, Carimate, ...

Garavilla

In 2015 the Bolton Group acquired a majority stake in Spanish seafood company Garavilla from MCH and Investment Portfolio Dularra. Garavilla owns a factory in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Saupiquet

Saupiquet is a French seafood company. In 2019 they commissioned a new 67m

seiner A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was es ...

from the Piriou shipyard.

UHU

UHU is a German manufacturer of adhesive products. They were acquired by the Bolton Group in 1994.

Brands

* Palmera - Italian canned seafood * Saupiquet - French canned seafood * Isabel - Spanish canned seafood * Garavilla - Spanish seafood * Petreet - Pet food * Ocean Naturals - Seafood * Choice landing - Seafood * Simmenthal - Canned meat

References

{{reflist Companies based in Milan Fish processing companies Multinational companies headquartered in Italy Conglomerate companies of Italy Multinational food companies Chemical companies of Italy Seafood companies of Europe Fishing in Italy Food and drink companies of Italy