The Sicilian Giuseppe Cutrale arrived in Brazil and began to negotiate oranges. It was the beginning of one of the greatest industries of history the country.
He came to Brazil in the 1990s 1930 in the wave of immigration that brought thousands of Italians to the country, looking for better conditions of day and a good environment for raise your family.
Na Italy, Giuseppe Cutrale already worked in the orange groves of Sicilia and, arriving at your New Earth, he decided to stay in the line of business to which he was already accustomed. So he started buying oranges at Rio de Janeiro, the largest fruit producing market at the time, to be sold in Municipal Market of São Paulo.
In addition to doing the “interstate exchange” of oranges, José Cutrale (as it became known, with the Brazilian name) from the beginning placed its entrepreneurial spirit to work and, taking advantage of the contacts he had in the Europe, began exporting Brazilian oranges to Germany, The Netherlands and even for the Canada.
However, the beginning of 2nd World War, between the end of the 1930s and the beginning of the 1940s, harmed practically any commercial movement with the European continent, forcing Cutrale to interrupt his business.
The youngest takes over the business
In 1947, José Cutrale Junior, the youngest of José Cutrale's 11 children ended up taking over his father's business ventures. With a mix of business acumen and luck, he started what would become a true world orange empire.
At that time, several climatic problems began to plague the region of Florida ( United States, until then the world's largest producer of oranges. Driven by a sense of opportunity, José Cutrale began to buy more and more oranges.
At the age of 21, with only a first-grade education, José Cutrale Júnior abandoned his studies and began helping his father, using intuition as the guiding principle in his management style. In decade 1950, acquired a small pack house, a company that packed oranges for export, in the municipality of drinking fountain, interior of São Paulo.
Until that moment, the family had only invested in fruit in natura. It was in 1967 that Cutrale entered the market Orange juice. He bought the Suconasa, a company in the same segment that was bankrupt, located in Araraquara, interior of São Paulo. It was founded Sucocítrico Cutrale Ltda.
Cutrale receives a strength from destiny
To regain the trust of factory customers, José Cutrale Junior personally sought out each of them and renegotiated deliveries of the products. Using your good negotiating skills, ended up resuming most of the contracts.
While I was working in Brazil to prepare the ground for produce on a large scale, fate was giving us a helping hand United States. A few months after acquiring Suconasa, another strong frost devastated the orchards in Florida, causing the price of oranges to skyrocket international market.
Thus, with the fruit valued in external market, Cutrale ended up closing good contracts and quickly managed to pay off practically everything he invested in purchasing the Suconasa.
José Cutrale Junior He was not an office administrator who sat behind a desk. He traveled many miles to inspect the orchards and he didn't stand on ceremony if he had to pick up boxes and oranges thrown on the ground.
Work and family life
Furthermore, he monitored all finances closely, making accounts with his agricultural managers and keeping numbers and spreadsheets in tip of the tongue. Had excellent memory and I would like to have control of all operations.
Another characteristic of José Cutrale Júnior was his discretion and appreciation of family life. O day and family They always walked side by side. It was very reserved, I didn’t like flashes and interviews. Close friends assure that he did not waste money on luxury or big parties and was shy.
In 1945, he married Amelia Bernardini, which was yours great companion, including in the company. Friends of the couple say that she accompanied him in negotiations and in the signing of the most important contracts.
The couple had an only child, José Luís Cutrale, born in September 17th, 1946. While still a teenager, he began follow in father's footsteps, with the same discretion and the same firm pulse for business.
When he was very young, at his father's request, he was already going to roadside to monitor the speed of the company's cargo trucks. He learned in practice and also in theory, as he did language courses quality oratory, in addition to having inherited the natural talent de deal maker of the family.
Cutrale father's farewell
Another characteristic of his father and grandfather, inherited by José Luís Cutrale, was the generosity towards employees of the company, as it has always given great opportunities to its executives.
An example of this is that when the company transferred its Administrative Center from São Paulo to Araraquara, in 1986, Cutrale built a condominium close to the factory, with luxurious houses, surrounded by a heart shaped wall. Inside lived, besides him and his family, the company directors, which he considered great friends.
His father, José Cutrale Júnior, died in December 29, 2004, to the 78 years, when the company had already dominated the national and international market of orange juice.
In 2012, the group returned to selling orange in natura No. Brazilian market. They were traced fruits, from planting the seedlings to the moment the oranges – from own production – were distributed to wholesale market. In the same year, Cutrale would diversify its business, expanding activities with soybean marketing.
Company begins to dominate the market
In 2013, experts assessed that Cutrale had registered exports in order of $1,7 billion, which placed it in the condition of second largest Brazilian producer, behind the Citrosuco, also based in Brazil.
In October 2014, Cutrale, in partnership with the Safra Group, represented by José Luís Cutrale e Joseph Safra, concluded another bold move in its trajectory. Reached an agreement on 1,3 billion dollars to buy the North American brand Chiquita Brands International, one of the four global leaders in banana market.
As it is a privately held company, only after this process was the equity value of the José Luís Cutrale conglomerate released, valued at more than 5 billions of dollars.
One for every three glasses of orange juice consumed in the world, on average, leaves the company's factories. Cutrale exports to more than 90 countries and maintains more than 15 thousand direct jobs. It is one of three companies with operations in Brazil that control approximately 80% of the world market of orange juice.
According to Forbes magazine's 2021 ranking of billionaires, José Luís Cutrale, 74 years old, is the 1249th richest person in the world and the 22nd in Brazil, with a fortune estimated at 2,5 billions of dollars.
Quiet life of a businessman
However, following family tradition, is rarely photographed or appears in interviews or social columns. Prefer to live at side of the family and your closest friends, always taking care of business who gave him the life he has.
This is the story that began with the arrival of Italian immigrant Giuseppe Cutrale to Brazil in decade 1930, and that it will not take long to reach the fourth generation of the family, since the children of José Luis, great-grandchildren of Giuseppe, José Luis Junior e Jose Henrique, are also preparing for take over the business.
A saga full of Josés, oranges, bananas, help from destiny, skillful negotiations and much, a lot of work. Almost a tale of fantastic realism, but just another chapter of fantastic reality da Italian immigration in Brazil.
By Roberto Schiavon/Italianism
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