INVESTMENTS

With the aim of pursuing a continuous strengthening of financial solidity, in 2022 the Company invested 33,9 million euros in tangible and intangible fixed assets acquired from third parties, net of internal capitalizations and excluding the impact of the IFRS 16 accounting standard.

Of particular note in this perspective is the commitment to renewing and upgrading the production machinery. As part of a specific multi-year plan, two new horizontal machining centers for the cast iron flow and a gear hobbing machining center came on line at the Reggiolo plant in Italy in 2022.

Also in Reggiolo, further investments were made to optimize production processes and logistics flows in assembly and painting. Specifically, a new semiautomatic assembly line equipped with digital and interconnected systems for production control came on line, and new vertical automated warehouses, fully integrated with factory logistics systems, were purchased.

In Monguelfo, two automated machining centers for processing steel components have gone into operation, and a measuring machine was purchased that is integrated with the machining centers and production management systems, providing the information needed to implement a closed, automated control cycle. Overseas plants also underwent numerous renovations and production efficiency upgrades during the reporting year.

At the Jiaxing plant in China, investments were made in masonry and general plant construction related to the expansion of the production facility. Semi-automatic assembly lines to produce industrial axles and agricultural gearboxes and a new vertical warehouse were also installed.

A production plant was built in India with related investments in masonry and general plant engineering related to the industrialization of processes.

Various projects were also completed in the production areas of the German plants: of particular note is the commissioning of an automated machining center for working steel components at the Sohland site. Areas equipped with dual charging stations for electric cars were also built on the Company's premises.

In the area of Digital Transformation, in light of the new acquisitions in 2022, several projects were launched to standardize and integrate the Group's processes. The connection of all major offices via a single geographical network using SD-WAN technology was also completed, and Office Automation services were consolidated into a single environment, facilitating communication and data exchange among employees. Finally, the ERP implementation project began, including providing for integration with the new Industry 4.0 work centers and automated warehouses and extending CRM functionality to the new scope. On the cybersecurity front, plans are underway to homogenize and extend the security measures already successfully implemented within Comer Industries to the entire new scope.