All began in the early 1940s, a decade that saw the rise of a productive industrial park, which was initially meant to be something complementary and supplemental to the already existing agricultural activity.

In 1940, Gaetano Marzotto created the Compagnia Agricola Italo – Albanese Società Anonima (C.A.I.A. S.A., Italian – Albanian Agricultural Company S.A.), which was later called Società Fondiaria Agricola Industriale S.p.A. (S.F.A.I. S.p.A., Industrial Agricultural Property Company). The company initially operated in the following areas of activity: Winery, Glass Factory, Cotton Mill, Linen Mill, Weaving, Soap Factory, Sugar Mill, Oil Manufacture and Dairy Establishment. Then, according to both an industrial and market logic and an international perspective, the Group progressively developed in the areas related to the original agricultural activity.

A further important year for the Group was 1980, when the transition from a multi-divisional company to a holding company took place.
The result of this type of division was the creation of several independent companies, which started operating as subsidiaries of Industrie Zignago Santa Margherita SpA:

• the processing of yarn was run by the Zignago Tessile SpA;
• the processing of hollow glass was managed by Zignago Vetro SpA;
• Santa Margherita SpA started operating in the production of wine;
• and, finally, the production and sale of dairy products was managed by Ala SpA.

This historical evolution of the Group definitely proves the entrepreneurial logic linked to the property, whose main aim is the development of a diversified type of business and, consequently, its strengthening.