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Workers at an Italian factory were delighted by an unexpected Christmas bonus, receiving cheques for thousands of euros bequeathed to them by their late boss who died last July, reports said yesterday.
Their late boss is Piero Macchi, the founder of Enoplastic, a company founded in 1957. The company has been an industry leader in the production of capsules, caps and closures innovation for the wine industry, and has about 280 employees, 150 machines and four subsidiaries in Spain, New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
Macchi, a lover of both good wine and machinery, turned a hobby into a lucrative business when he founded the company in 1957 - the company now produces 2.5 billion units a year and exports to more than 80 countries.
Mr Macchi, who died last July at 87, quietly changed his will shortly before his death, leaving staff at the company's Bodio Lomnago plant in the Italian Alps a total of 1.5 million euros (S$2.4 million). He has always considered the employees of his company, more like an extended family than as employees.
"It was all managed by his wife Carla, my mother, who sent a touching letter of thanks with each of the cheques," Macchi's daughter Giovanna, the current joint manager of Enoplastic, told Corriera della Sera newspaper.
The cheques landed just before Christmas, with new staff receiving €2,000 (S$3,151) and the oldest staff €10,000 (S$15,757) - and some workers got even more when Mr Macchi knew they needed it.
"We always think of ourselves as a big family and this Christmas present is a sign of that," one worker told the Varese News newspaper.
Today, the company is led by Giovanna Macchi and Michele Moglia, both CEOs, joined by brother Michael, Andrew and the new president Samo Kalin.