KANSAS CITY, MO. – This is the first in a series of podcasts, web news reports and feature stories that are part of Family Business Focus, a partnership between MEAT+POULTRY and NAMI to provide information and resources to help family-held companies survive and thrive.
In 2018, MEAT+POULTRY featured Daniele Inc. on the cover of the June issue. Based on a visit to Pascoag, RI, and a tour of Daniele’s massive salame facility and Old World prosciutto production, the feature story chronicled the rich history of Daniele, the Dukcevich family and its recent investment of millions of dollars to expand production and implement cutting-edge automation. Davide Dukcevich and his brother Stefano were the third generation of their family to own and operate the business, following in the footsteps of their father, Vlado (known as the “Christopher Columbus of charcuterie”), and his parents who founded the company in Italy seven decades ago. The charcuterie-based business, including about 600 employees, was thriving and the brothers were laser focused on the future.
But who knew that about two years later, the family would decide that the next best step for the flourishing business would be to sell it, which they did in 2019 to Chicago-based private equity firm, Entrepreneurial Equity Partners (e2p).
In this week’s MEAT+POULTRY podcast, Davide Dukcevich talks about the family’s business, how it was founded by his grandparents and how the Dukcevich’s family identity revolved largely around the business. The two-part podcast first covers the journey of the business, from its founding in Italy to its move to the United States, and the growth of the company and its transition through three generations of ownership.
Next week, Dukcevich walks through the process of how the company’s stakeholders ultimately decided that the best next step for the company and for the family was to accept an acquisition offer.
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