| Portrait of the Group |
At the confluence of main shipping routes in the
Mediterranean, Malta is an ideal hub for trade,
industry and commerce to prosper.
Decades ago, maltese progenitors recognised the huge
potential Malta’s geography offered. Many pioneered
their family businesses, plenty of which have stood
the test of time and are today accomplished household
names. The estate of Attard & Co. Ltd. belongs to this
genre of legacy: the traditional maltese family
business.
Firm Attard owes its existence to its founder and
visionary Edoardo Pellegrini Petit, a solicitor by
profession. The firm was established in 1921,
originally as an insurance agency. Yet as early as
1924, Attard company ventured into merchandising of
photo products in Malta, heralding the Gevaert label,
years before it came to be known as Agfa.
Photography was not the only mainstay business for
Firm Attard. Earlier activities comprised artists’
materials, surveying instruments and office-related
commodities, the likes of photocopiers.
Indeed, it is commonly acknowledged that Attard &
Co. Ltd. (as it is today known) and its many
dependants are indebted to brothers Joseph and
George Pellegrini Petit, belonging to the second
generation of entrepreneurs.
With the passing away of Edoardo in 1945, Joseph
took on the reins of the family business at the tender
age of 23. Mindful that the onus of corporate
succession now lay on his shoulders, Joseph
Pellegrini Petit administered the company with
exuberance and gave it the impetus it needed to forge
ahead.
Joined by brother George soon after the eventful
merger of Agfa and Gevaert in 1964, business took to
new heights as sales of leisure cameras, film, cine and
magnetic tapes became more prevalent.
The agency’s acquisition of the prestigious Fiorucci
marque in 1976 for fine processed meats lent
credance to Attard’s innate philosophy of
diversification. From the outset, Fiorucci was hailed
as the Foodstuff Division’s flagship and would retain
its superlative rating up to the present day.
Into the eighties, business continued to flourish for
Attard & Co. and it was decided upon to entirely
segregate the technical imaging lines consisting of
diagnostic imaging (x-ray), graphic arts and
microfilm, from photo business, in order to attribute
distinct autonomy to each of the two branches.
|
|
In keeping with tradition, business affairs in 1992
began to be administered by family members of the
third generation who were broken into the trade, as it
were, from an early age. The company soon embarked
on an expansion programme appositely called the
Horizon Plan. The Plan focused on new lines several
of which were not in the least related to Attard’s
traditional business.
Finally operating as a limited liability company, Attard would experience growth on virtually all fronts. Extraordinarily, the Graphics Division would relish its most glorious years between 1993 and 2002 having secured a 92% share of the prepress market in imagesetting equipment. These 10 years would be etched in history as the Golden years for Attard’s Graphic Division. December 28th 2001 is a landmark date in the annals of Attard & Co. Ltd. After half a century of conducting business affairs from South Street, Valletta, the company moved seat to Canter Business Centre, Marsa. The inauguration of Attard’s new offices signalled the end of an era and start of a new epoch.
Having evolved into a group of companies, Attard & Co. Ltd. found it was necessary to organise itself in 3 independent business groups: Imaging, Industrial and Foodstuffs. With its core business thus redefined, Attard has its mind set in garnering its future ambitions.
|
 |
Attard & Co. Headoffices
Canter Business Centre, Patri Felicjan Bilocca Street,
Marsa MRS 1521, Malta. |
|
