Pneumatics: ethics and profit
Three new lines of components; a new, completely self-funded factory; a revamped sales network and coordination of subsidiaries... Pneumax celebrates 40 years in business with wide-reaching projects.
350 employees, 340 of whom living within a few kilometers of operations, flanked by those operating in adjacent productions. This rootedness in the land is a foundational characteristic of Pneumax, a specialist in the design and production of pneumatic components that comprises 21 companies (2 in manufacturing, 6 in sales in Italy, 13 selling abroad). This is the result of a conscious decision on the part of the group’s ownership, headed by founder and CEO Roberto Bottacini and his partner Giuseppe Beretta, and is summed up perfectly in statements made by Bottacini himself during an event in May: «Pneumax is also and especially the people who work here, and this is the first reason why the company has not delocalized and never will». However, this decision has forced the concern to find ways to remain competitive even in foreign markets, where different standards prevail in terms of performance and costs, without compromising the principles of quality that represent Pneumax’s “banner”.
The growth which Pneumax has gone through in 2015 (+12.3%), and which it is pursuing at the same pace globally, is thus made possible by an attentive and creative commitment at all levels of the business. This commitment has involved over 10 million euros in investments - with another 4 millions planned for the current year - allocated for the creation of a new, completely self-financed production site, in addition to the revamping of the group’s existing internal sales organization, the improved coordination of its subsidiaries, optimized financial flows and the upcoming startup of a US subsidiary. The latter project should further boost exports, which already make up 40% of Pneumax turnover. But, most importantly, this commitment has meant the development of three new product lines, specialized according to technology and sector of application.
Bottacini presented them with the help of Sales Development Manager Emanuele Morandi, Purchasing Manager Gianmaria Armanni and three target market directors: Maurizio Gualco for vacuum solutions, Marco Mosconi for oil & gas and Lucia Terragni for the automotive sector.
Valves for vacuum. Ever since 2010, explained Morandi, Pneumax has supplemented its signature development of standard lines with that of specialized products. «Basically, we have begun approaching the market “vertically” and have structured our sales department and competencies accordingly».
The concern’s products for vacuum technologies, explains Maurizio Gualco, are used in the primary and secondary packaging industries, as well as in bottling, labeling, pick & place and similar sectors, but also sheet metal, automotive, electronics, thermoforming, bottling...
These products are divided among standard lines and suction, vacuum cartridge, single- and multi-phase pumps (including energy saving models), suction attachments of various sizes and types, filters and silencers, a wide variety of instruments and electronic adjustments. The solutions are made using multiple materials and techniques and are available in various measures and performance standards, adapted to satisfy the various application needs between -40 and +200 degrees Celsius. They share high performance, low consumption and rapid response times.
Solutions for the automotive sector. Pneumax products are used for the production of automobiles - particularly during the body assembly phase, after the parts have been moulded but before they are painted - as well as on conveyor belts, and are offered in a catalog developed ad hoc, with a chapter dedicated to a wide array of patented high efficiency brake shoes that guarantee energy use reduction up to 41%. The range includes all formats, with cylinder from 40 to 80 mm in diameter, and has recently been expanded with smaller diameters, from 25 to 32 mm.
These products are very powerful and efficient, with dedicated grippers for every application and blocking units with continuous drift angle adjustment («the fastest on the market», explains product manager Lucia Terragni).
Furthermore, as with all Pneumax components, these are built using a special aluminium alloy that makes them particularly lightweight.
Servicing oil & gas. For this promising niche market Pneumax has developed a specific offer of valves, made from AISI 316L steel as well as aluminium, capable of operating at various temperatures and pressures. They include air and gas treatment units, stainless and SSTD, modular stainless units, valves and electrovalves for air and fluids, stainless actuators, accessories and associated components. 25% of the products destined for these sectors are customized. In order to maintain high standards and ongoing R&D, Pneumax has built the new, state-of-the-art production facility #6, equipped with installations in a class of their own, with all the production and testing equipment necessary to guarantee total quality (100% of products are tested, without slowing production).
And... the Factory 4.0?
What will the future of pneumatic drives look like in light of the trends in demand, and, more generally, of the cross-industry orientation known as Industry 4.0? «Pneumatics play an indispensable role in many fields - reflects Emanuele Morandi, Pneumax sales director - usually wherever there is risk of explosions, but also in applications where it may one day be replaced by electric drives. But - the Pneumax manager continues - that future is still far off, and in the meantime it is necessary to carry forward the development of other technologies». This doesn’t mean the Bergamo-based concern is not actively interested in smart technologies. On the contrary, «On some product lines - declares Morandi - we are working to incorporate elements of motion control and diagnostic functionalities in order to foster the connectivity and interactivity that is characteristic of Industry 4.0».
 Open letter Cavalier Roberto Bottacini, owner and CEO of Pneumax, considers his managerial decisions as a responsibility. He has thus put himself on the line, recently writing an open letter, published in national daily, summing up his convictions. Here below are a few quotes which speak for themselves better than any comment could. 1) We must value the strongest brand the world has to offer - “Made in Italy” - and not let it be spoiled [...] Quality, service, technology and R&D cannot be used as mere rhetoric for advertising or availing oneself of a tax break, but must create jobs and ultimately benefit the common good... 2) We want to change Italy so that it doesn’t have to change [...] in order to promote a new vision of development that respects people and the environment, free of conventional wisdom and capable of effectively redistributing wealth... 3) If we manage to believe in ourselves and in our products, others will believe in us too, and Italy will be perceived differently... 4) We need to put ourselves on the line [...], first and foremost by demanding from ourselves the responsible behavior that we find in our roots and in the spirit on which the greatness of Italian business is based... 5) We have to grow responsibly and civilly to create the pre-conditions for economic growth […]. That depends on us and our will to pitch in and put ourselves on the line… |
