Scandia Food, a Short History
At the same time, Filippo Dozzi founded his salami factory in Sinaia. The Italian entrepreneur, born in Frisanco (Udine), emigrated to Romania in 1885, settling with his wife at Poiana Țapului. A stonemason by craft, he worked at the Piatra Arsă quarry and later lived for a short time in Budapest, where he took a job at the salami factory. It was there that he learned about mixing meat and spices, later becoming a master of the trade.
Back in Romania, in 1911 he decided to buy a building in Sinaia that hosted a restaurant, a wine cellar and a hotel, and turn it into the headquarters of his newly-established Întreprindere Individuală Filippo Dozzi (Filippo Dozzi Individual Enterprise).
The company made Sibiu salami, and the sausage soon found its way into the most pretentious menus, since it had been seen as a luxury product from the very start.
During its first years, the company operated on a small scale and later expanded as it accumulated capital. Filippo Dozzi sought to buy new land and property nearby so he’d be able to increase his factory’s production capacity and oversee its operations more closely. Proof to this are the sale contracts Filippo Dozzi signed with Gilbert Fonteix (1911) or Iosef, Ion, Carol, Willy, and Alexandru Wisenecker (1932).
A large part of the factory workers were on a full-time job, especially those of Italian origin, who were coming from Udine, the municipalities of Friscano and Pinzano, while others were living in and around Sinaia, Poiana Țapului, Comarnic, Buşteni or Teşila. They had been given rigorous training to learn the secrets of making Sibiu salami to the most exacting quality standards, which would meet the requirements of an increasingly larger customer base.
Upon his death, in 1943, Filippo Dozzi left the secret to his sons, Antonio and Giuseppe, and they continued the work of their father, successfully meeting the increasing consumer demand for Sibiu salami. From several testimonies they and others gave as part of a trial judged in 1946 by the Prahova District Court, 1st division, we learn that the two had been managing their father’s factory even since his last years, drew balance sheets and inventories, conducted improvement works, and fitted new equipment. Also, the bill of sale signed with Helene and Jean Lacroix in 1940 shows that Antonio and Giuseppe Dozzi were concerned with growing their father’s business and purchased to that effect an additional plot of land of 410 sqm, located in the town of Sinaia.
Many letters delivered by mail coach are a living testimony to the appreciation that many customers abroad had for the coveted Sibiu salami.
Because of microclimate requirements, specifically the required low temperature that had to be maintained throughout the whole process, production was limited to the winter months. This is why in both geographical areas the product was initially marketed under the name of “winter salami”.
When the salami’s popularity eventually crossed the borders, it became exported through the Sibiu customs, as this was the crossing point into Austro-Hungary’s territory. Accordingly, the export documents accompanying the merchandise were stamped “Sibiu Customs”, which caused the numerous orders from partners abroad to also bear the mention “Salami from Sibiu Customs”.
In a short time, the product became known simply as “Sibiu salami”. In the 1930s, the name became widely used by customers across the country, including by the Royal House of Romania, as evidenced by the many order letters from its members.
All these factories were nationalized by the Communist regime in 1948, and were subsequently owned by the state. In the case of Scandia, nationalization was followed by a name change: until December 1989, the facility operated under the name Salconserv, run and owned by IIC Sibiu. In 2001, following a public auction, the company was purchased by its current shareholders, thus becoming fully private, and in 2010 was renamed Scandia Food.
