The “Columbro” Pasta Factory was established in 1972 by Acrisio Nicola Columbro and Ines Ghiandoni.

Till then Acrisio Columbro had worked as an agent for big pasta factories, but his passion for pasta induced him to set up business on his own.

The start was somewhat hard; since Columbro had no money to buy machinery, he made a deal with the manufacturer: should he have difficulty in paying for it, he would give it back and would only pay for hiring the equipment. But things went otherwise and, some months after Acrisio had bought the first machinery, new equipment was purchased. The production included egg pasta, durum wheat semolina pasta, and filled pasta such as “tortellini” and “ravioli”. Those products were sold at local level, to grocer’s shops and restaurants, because Columbro’s policy was to only sell quality products. That was not the easiest way in terms of immediate earnings, but eventually it proved to be the rightest one because the production was increasingly stepped up.

Now the factory, which covers an area of about 4,000 square metres, is a quite big one, but the craftsmanlike care with which our products are made is still the same as in the past. Important investments in technology have been made in order to improve the product rather than to increase the output, because technology can actually improve quality, provided that it is not used only to increase production. The use of 10-quintal presses to produce 3.5 quintals per hour, and the drying process at a low temperature (55 to 60 degrees) prevent the product from warming up, thus keeping all its nutritional properties unchanged. That is why our products are tastier and go farther than those by other brands, by about 20% for short pasta and by 40% for “fettuccine”, noodles, etc. We use bronze dies to get rougher pasta, which allows better absorption of seasoning. Only Italian raw materials are used, 80% to 90% of which from the Marches, because high quality and wholesomeness are a must for Columbro. Unfortunately, today many big industries buy raw materials from countries where sanitary checks are not so strict, and where chemical products which in Europe have been banned for years are still used. At Columbro, any of our products is made with the same care we would put in preparing food for our children.