Cesena, 26 May 2022. REPA Group announces with deep sadness the death of Eng. Vittorio Ricci, former CEO of LF and REPA advisor, who passed away Tuesday 24th May 2022 at the age of 81, following a long illness.

At the head of LF Spa from 1982 to 2018, the year of transition to REPA, he was able to guide the Cesena-based Group's Italian subsidiary to excellence, transforming it into a cutting-edge multinational company in the distribution of spare parts for professional catering, with a first-class logistics system and high service levels.

“My uncle believed in values such as loyalty, honesty and consistency, values that he passed on throughout his life to his family members and to the employees of the companies he managed and that for him represented his family”, says Valeria Ricci, Vittorio's niece and Export Sales Director of the REPA Group. "To become a great entrepreneur you probably have to be born one, but my uncle taught us to be pioneers, pioneers of ideals and initiatives. His determination and entrepreneurial approach will remain something unique in our business, along with his teachings, which we will carry with us forever."

Leonardo Raggi, CEO of LF and Vice President Logistics of REPA, adds: "At LF we are very grateful and proud to have worked with Vittorio for over 20 years. Personally, I have grown professionally following his values and his natural attitude to always look ahead, a talent that has allowed him to grow the LF project to deliver it to future generations. Today, we can say with certainty that his dream has been fully realised, with LF as the main pillar of the REPA Group, now PT Holdings, and with a future as the world's leading distributor of spare parts for professional kitchens.”

“This is a very sad moment in our history of LF”, says Alexander Wiegand, CEO of REPA Group. “Vittorio has been an exceptional, charismatic leader and a visionary who has driven our whole industry forward for many years. I always admired him and respected him deeply! I am sure he would have loved to see our group grow further in the coming years”.

A visionary and charismatic entrepreneur, Mr Ricci was highly respected by customers and colleagues and will be immensely missed by all those who had the pleasure of knowing and working with him.