BKT and solidarity are an inseparable pair, which is already well-known thanks to numerous charitable initiatives the company has been supporting worldwide for quite some time. This time, the team has grown broader with the World Champion Paolo Rossi as exceptional guest star at the gala solidarity dinner organized by BKT in the wonderful setting of Palazzo Gnudi in Bologna on November 9. On this occasion, Pablito nazionale donated three shirts with the number 20 of the Italian national soccer team for being auctioned. The funds raised were then donated to the Parada Italia association that offers aid to children living in the streets of Bucarest in considerably difficult and discomfortable conditions.

2018 has been BKT's soccer year. The presence of Paolo Rossi speaks volumes, indeed. After having stipulated a three-year partnership with Lega Nazionale Professionisti B, the organization promoting the Italian Serie B professional football, and having given its name to the now-called “Serie BKT”, the company continues its dialog and cooperation with the Italian world of sport and Paolo Rossi.

Not only is Pablito a real soccer icon in Italy, but he has also engaged into a solidarity match side by side with BKT like real teammates.

After meeting and having a little chat with his fans at the BKT booth at EIMA, the International Agricultural and Gardening Machinery Exhibition, Paolo Rossi was the special guest at BKT's gala dinner – an exclusive event that the company reserved to its customers, to the representatives of organizations and associations in the industry, to its partner Univergomma and all staff members, as well as to the press.

In the course of the special dinner event, Paolo Rossi was interviewed by Rosario Pellecchia, a speaker of Radio 105 and a great soccer enthusiast. Paolo Rossi literally captivated the audience while telling about the 1982 World Soccer Championship and the emotions of lifting such a memorable Cup along with countless anecdotes of that extraordinary day.

Pablito donated three autographed shirts with the number 20 and the 82 World Cup logo. The shirts were auctioned, and all guests present competed in an amazing auction full of emotions, bidding higher and higher to the very last. A total of € 7,700 was raised this way. BKT decided to double the amount in order to wholeheartedly support Parada Italia's initiatives.

“We have decided to support Parada Italia side by side with Paolo Rossi right because in the field of solidarity, team play is what counts most – just as you cannot win a World Cup alone. We are extraordinarily glad that we have had the opportunity to give our contribution,” Lucia Salmaso, CEO of BKT Europe, stated.

“Actually, there is a lot that BKT and I have in common,” Paolo Rossi confirms. - “We are both soccer enthusiasts supporting this sport with all our strength. We are both also linked to earth: BKT by specializing in agriculture, and me, since I have a farming business stretching over 80 hectares like a true green lung, where excellent wine and oil originate from. Last but not least, we are top teammates in terms of social sensitivity. I am definitively glad and proud for taking the proceeds of such generosity to this volunteer organization in Romania, which I have been supporting personally for years, and which does a great and admirable job.”

BKT has avowed itself to the giving-back principle as an essential part of its working philosophy. The company is continuously engaged in supporting initiatives for charity worldwide: this includes projects in the medical and educational fields in India extending to Guinea, where the company supports the Iya Foundation of BKT's testimonial, the football freestyler Iya Traoré, and reaching as far as Australia, where the company has recently donated funds to farmers hit by the worst drought ever in Australia.

BKT's commitment encompasses all continents with particular focus on the communities and the people living their, as well as on their activities, and above all on their future.

For further information on Parada Italia: www.parada.it

To watch Rosario Pellecchia's interview with Paolo Rossi: https://www.facebook.com/BKTTires/videos/2076549269323215/