Pro-Zhut

Raimondo, commerce nominee Pryor tour food factory being built in Burrillville

Published: January 22, 2015 11:20 PM

The Providence Journal /

By Paul Grimaldi

Journal Staff Writer

pgrimald@providencejournal.com

BURRILLVILLE, R.I. — Governor Raimondo traveled Thursday to the state’s northwest corner accompanied by Stefan Pryor, the man she picked to lead the state’s economic efforts, to get a look inside a $62-million food factory under construction in Burrillville.

Pryor is Raimondo’s nominee to be Rhode Island’s first commerce secretary, a post created under the Chafee administration to centralize economic policy and commercial regulation. Pryor, whose appointment must be confirmed by the state Senate, is new to Rhode Island, having last held the post of Connecticut’s commissioner of education.

Raimondo brought Pryor out to rural Burrrillville to visit Daniele Inc., a company that specializes in curing meat. Vlado Dukcevich, an Italian immigrant, built his meat-curing business in the town in 1976 to take advantage of the fresh air, a necessary aspect of the production process.

The business has grown into a global supplier of charcuterie — dry-cured meats such as prosciutto, capocollo and salami, necessitating the massive construction project now under way.

“It’s very clear that this plant is derived from state-of-the-art technology from around the world,” Pryor said.

It’s a Rhode Island success story, said Raimondo, who used the visit to highlight the state’s nascent food industry.

“Any Rhode Islander who hasn’t had Daniele prosciutto should go get some because it supports a local company and is delicious,” Raimondo said. “I’m proud of Daniele — this is a family business; they’re taking it to the next level.”

The visit to Daniele is the first in a series of visits to local businesses Raimondo said she will make with Pryor. The goal is to collect ideas on how to turn the state’s lagging economy around.

“What we need to do is find some practical solutions to break down barriers so businesses can be successful, because when they’re successful they hire people,” Raimondo said. “Clearly, food — agriculture — is a strength.”

The visits also will give Pryor a firsthand look at the enterprises he’ll be asked to support.

“This is an important area of policy,” Pryor said of the food industry. “There are many strengths; we must build upon them.”

The tours also appear to be a sort of team-building exercise for the governor and her commerce nominee.

Raimondo and Pryor were classmates at Yale, but they work rooms differently.

The governor is an unabashed hugger, while Pryor is still in the formal handshake stage of his tenure.

Raimondo is friends with the Dukcevich family and Vlado’s two sons, Davide and Stefano, who today run the Daniele operation. They greet each other as such.

Pryor tries to connect by remarking that he and Stefano share an unusual form of the same name.

Donning knee-length smocks and hairnets for the tour brings out the middle-school nervousness in the crowd of reporters, photographers and policy aides, as well as a plea from Raimondo to hold off on unflattering photos.

“Easy on the hairnet pictures,” she said.

The walk inside the cavernous, noisy factory is quick and doesn’t lend itself to sharing confidences.

It’s not until later, near the end of the visit, when Pryor throws off a pun-laden couplet picking up on Raimondo’s use of the colloquial “pro-zhut” for prosciutto that they laugh together and she reflexively puts a hand up on his shoulder.

With the tour over, the new governor climbs into the state-provided hybrid SUV and a state trooper whisks her away to the next appointment. Pryor, meanwhile, stays behind to field a call on his cellphone as the media head to their vehicles.

On Twitter: @PaulEGrimaldi