Passion, planning, commitment, tradition, and innovation: these are the keys
to IGOR Gorgonzola’s success.
For four generations, the Leonardi Family has been producing and bringing
to the tables of the world the PDO Gorgonzola, a perfect synthesis between
the ancient and wise art of cheese making and the most modern
technological innovations. Handed down from father to son, IGOR’s original
recipe has remained unchanged for over 80 years, paying the utmost
attention to the selection of milk and a careful monitoring of the various
production stages, always respecting tradition and the environment.
Just a few simple ingredients to create a unique cheese, known and loved
in Italy and all over the world thanks to its incomparable taste.
From the left: Maurizio, Lara, Marco, Ivana, Giulia, Fabio
THE HISTORY: from 1935 until today
In the small village of Mezzomerico, nestled in the hills of Novara in Piedmont,
Natale Leonardi handcrafted Gorgonzola, the iconic Italian cheese known for
its blue veins and unique flavour. He delivered it by carriage to hotels around
Lake Maggiore, frequented at the time by nobles from across the country
and abroad. It is in this hilltop village and with Grandfather Natale that the
story, traditions, and values of our company were born.
Founded by Natale Leonardi, in the small hill town of Mezzomerico in 1935,
IGOR moved to a modern facility equipped with state-of-the-art Gorgonzola
production, ageing and packaging technology in Cameri, Novara in 1996.
Over the years, through constant, considerable growth on the domestic and
global markets, the company made various investments, expanding its headquarters five times and acquiring four production facilities.
The Cameri headquarters is an ultra-modern facility with two fully-automated production plants. The following historical facilities were acquired over
the years to best combine innovation and tradition and maintain the artisan
quality of the company’s products: Pal in Prato Sesia, Clin in Cameriano, Si
Invernizzi in Trecate and Ballarini, and a cheese ageing facility in Cameri.
The Leonardi family has been making IGOR Gorgonzola and serving it up on
tables all over the world for four generations. The product is a perfect blend
of the ancient art of cheese-making, the constant search for higher quality
and the most up-to-date technological innovation.
We have always deeply valued artisan craftsmanship, recognizing it as a treasure to be preserved and proudly passed on to future generations.
As a result, when expanding our company, we choose to tie our name to
other companies that are also deeply rooted in the local area, cheese factories with huge experience in the artisan production of Gorgonzola, aiming
for premium range products thanks to artisan processing and meticulous,
refined selection.
Passion, tradition, excellence, innovation and social responsibility: these are
the keys to IGOR Gorgonzola’s success.
1935
FOUNDATION
Natale Leonardi
starts producing
Gorgonzola using
artisan methods
1996
IGOR 1
IGOR relocates the
company to a modern
15,000 sqm facility
in Cameri
2000
COAGULATOR
IGOR installs its first
continuous coagulator,
bringing its production
capacity to approximately
4,000 wheels per day
2008
IGOR 2
The headquarters are
expanded by
over 5,000 sqm
2006
ACQUISITION
OF BALLARINI
Acquisition of Ballarini,
a company specialised in the
artisan ageing of Gorgonzola,
to boost IGOR’s
foothold on the
global markets
2008
ACQUISITION
OF CLIN
Acquisition of Clin, an artisan
cheese factory specialised
in Gorgonzola Dolce (mild)
and Piccante (spicy)
2009
IGOR 3
The headquarter are expanded once more by over 5.000sqm
2011
IGOR 4
Further expansion by over 10,000 sqm
2014
ACQUISITION
OF PAL
Acquisition of Pal, a historical
artisan cheese factory with a
production capacity of over
300 wheels of premium
Gorgonzola per day
2018
IGOR 5
Gorgonzola 4.0
Industry 4.0 based expansion,
bringing the total area of the
Cameri headquarters to 50,000
sqm and installing a second
coagulator
2019
ACQUISITION
OF INVERNIZZI
Acquisition of the historical
brand specialised in producing
top-range Gorgonzola with
700-litre vats
2021
EXPANSION
OF INVERNIZZI
INVERNIZZI
Expansion
by over 3,500 sqm
2024
NEW DAIRY FACTORY
QUATTROROSE
Opening of the new
Quattrorose artisanal
cheese factory with 3,200-litre
polyvalent tanks, for a daily
production capacity of 1200 wheels