The Italian tannery is mourning the loss of one of the pioneers of an industry that rose to become a global leader. Bruno Mastrotto, a key figure in the Venetian tanning industry and a key figure—since the mid-1950s—in the creation and growth of one of Italy’s largest leather groups, Gruppo Mastrotto, has passed away at the age of 84. His daughter, Chiara, is now president of the company. By La Conceria.

Farewell to Bruno Mastrotto

Born in 1941, Bruno Mastrotto (in the archive photo, La Conceria), together with his brother Santo “and with the support of his father Arciso – as stated on mastrotto.com -, created a company destined to become a point of reference in the tanning sector. Driven by their passion for leather and a desire for excellence, the two founders laid the foundations of what has now become one of the most important global players in the sector.” Today, as stated online, “in addition to the 11 locations in Italy, Gruppo Mastrotto’s production plants are also located around the world in Brazil, Mexico, Tunisia, and Indonesia. In addition, there are two strategic hubs designed to best serve the North American and United Kingdom markets.” In 2024, the Vicenza-based group also acquired the Portuguese company Coindu (Componentes Para A Indústria Automóvel).

A pioneer of Italian tanning

Bruno Mastrotto’s relationship with the tannery began early. It is recounted in the book ” From Leather to the Heart – Stories of Life and Business of the Mastrotto Group,” published to mark the Vicenza-based giant’s 60th anniversary. In 1953, at the age of 12, Bruno Mastrotto spent three summer months helping out in a cousin’s tannery. “After returning to school,” the book by Alessandro Zaltron states, “Bruno felt he was wasting his time and obtained a permanent job at the tannery, where his gift of the gab enticed the owner to hire him.” It all began there. Before 1958, the year the group’s first tannery (Aurora) was founded, Bruno “made a name for himself and a career at the Alfa tannery. Because he believed the tanning industry was his destiny and his passion.” And so it was, combining his entrepreneurial spirit, production vision, and managerial rigor. For example, as a statement from the Vicenza-based group recalls, “in the 2000s, it introduced a cutting-edge integrated management system into the company, becoming the first company in the tanning industry to adopt it: a sign of its constant openness to innovation and digitalization.”

Social commitment

Bruno Mastrotto (who was president of the Tanning Section of Confindustria Vicenza from 1987 to 1991), however, was not only known for his entrepreneurial prowess, but also for the substance of his social commitment. Indeed, he was “a founding member and president for about twenty years of the Movement for Patients’ Rights in Arzignano. He consistently worked to improve patient care and the quality of local healthcare services.” In 1998, “together with his wife Silvana Marchesini, who was its founder, he supported the creation of the Karibuni Association, dedicated to the children of immigrant families.” In 2016, again together with his wife and daughters, “he founded the Silvana and Bruno Mastrotto Foundation, which continues their commitment to the local community through educational and social projects, such as the Parkinson Café and La Tribù del Sole, also supporting scientific research on Parkinson’s disease at the University of Padua, led by Professor Angelo Antonini. In 2001, John Paul II awarded him the title of Knight Commander of the Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, one of the highest papal honors, for his constant commitment to social and missionary causes,” concludes the Mastrotto Group statement.