The French multinational PGS Group, active in the production of new and reconditioned wooden pallets, is entering the Italian market through the acquisition of Beretta Pallets, a long-established company based in Mapello, in the province of Bergamo. The transaction forms part of the group’s strategy to strengthen its European production network. Beretta Pallets is a family-owned business founded in 1920 in Bergamo by Luigi Beretta and has been operating in the timber sector for more than a century. From the 1960s onwards, it began producing pallets, gradually specialising in this segment. Since 2011, the company has operated from its Mapello site, strategically located between Milan and Brescia, covering a total area of 23,500 square metres, with around 6,000 square metres occupied by industrial buildings.
PGS Group’s industrial plan for Italy includes investments of five million euros aimed at upgrading the Bergamo production site. According to the group, two new production lines, drying kilns and a painting booth will be installed, with operations scheduled to start in March 2026. These measures will enable the plant to triple its production capacity, reaching 1.5 million pallets per year. The site also has additional space available for potential future expansions, supporting further industrial development.
On the organisational side, Valerio Ruspino, director of Beretta Pallets, will take responsibility for the group’s development in the Italian market. The current workforce of 15 employees is expected to grow to around 30 in the medium term, in line with increased production volumes. Luc Grauwet, chief executive officer of PGS Group, explains that the move into Italy follows an industrial and commercial rationale linked to Lombardy’s central role in the European manufacturing system and the presence in the region of numerous clients already operating internationally. The choice of Beretta Pallets is attributed to its technical expertise, the stability of its customer portfolio and the continuity of its family-run business model, all seen as consistent with the group’s values.
PGS Group, an acronym for Palettes Gestion Services, is a French industrial group founded in 1993 by Jean-Louis Louvel and specialising in the production of new wooden pallets, the repair and reconditioning of used pallets, as well as related rental and reverse logistics services. It is among the leading producers and reconditioners of wooden pallets in France and the country’s main manufacturer of Europe Epal/Eur pallets. The group operates in several European and North African countries, including France, Belgium, Latvia, Spain, Germany, Morocco and Ukraine. Its industrial capacity is estimated at around 25 million new pallets produced each year and more than 20 million reconditioned pallets, supported by a network of production sites, reconditioning plants, sawmills and an in-house pallet nail manufacturing facility.
