100% Italian made products

The owner of Ritmonio Rubinetterie Srl, Mr Ritmonio, reveals to Barbara Rossi how his company’s products are entirely made in Italy.

Ritmonio Rubinetterie started its activity in 1947, initially operating uniquely in what is nowadays called the Industry division, specialised in the production of electrical boiler valves, components for the heating and conditioning industry and manufacturing of brass parts, copper and brazing components. In 1999 there was the launch of the Bath-Kitchen division, dedicated to the design and production of hygienic taps for the bathroom and kitchen areas.

The company’s activity is still currently organised around these two divisions. The Industry division customers are major companies in the heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, automotive, coffee machines, household appliances and air treatment industries, which Rubinetterie Ritmonio supplies with brass components and copper circuits designed together with the customers to best fulfil their needs. The Industry division also supplies standard articles, such as safety valves for pressure containers, typically electric and gas boilers, and collectors for finned pack batteries used in heat exchangers. The activity of the Bath-Kitchen division is that of designing and manufacturing hygienic taps for its clients, organised in several product lines, featuring in the company’s catalogue and able to satisfy the highest quality standards and to respond to market’s requests in terms of design and innovation.

People and facilities

Currently Ritmonio Rubinetterie employs more than 150 employees and its main site is in Varallo, near Vercelli, in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. This site extends over 56,000 m2, of which 16,000 m2 are taken up by built structures, and houses both the company’s offices and its main production facilities. It also features the cleaning, galvanic treatment and welding departments and a 1000 m2 warehouse. The company has also a 3000 m2 packaging warehouse at the old production site in Quarona Sesia, 5 km away. Furthermore, there is a copper tube dedicated plant in the Milan province and the company also avails itself of the collaboration of brass printers, located around northern Italy.

In terms of production site expansion, very recently, in 2009, the company made two major investments. The first was the extension of the main site by 5000 m2 for production and assembling purposes as well as the acquisition of 40,000 m2, adjacent to the current site, for potential future developments, while the second was the completion of an automated warehouse, allowing the company to reduce its retrieval times. There are also plans for updating machinery within 2011 and usually annual investments vary within the 4.5 per cent range of turnover.

Italy and the world

The company supplies business clients in the private sector, approximately equally divided between Italy and the rest of the world. There are no main differences in the geographical distribution of the products from the two divisions and the company’s distribution reaches every part of the world. Currently it distributes its products in the whole of Europe, the Middle-East, the former Soviet Union countries, including Russia itself, the whole of the American continent, Australia, Korea, India and North Africa.

Expansion will be of an organic nature, linked to possible market requests, although future acquisitions of companies or product lines

could become part of the picture, if suitable opportunities should arise. Ritmonio Rubinetterie is engaged in continuing its growth trend, carrying on meeting the needs of existing clients, as well as acquiring new customers and plans to increase its export activity, with particular attention to the major emerging markets, such as China and India, in which it’s already present. The opening of new horizons will be facilitated by the fact that in 2008 the next generation of the family joined the company.

Eco-sustainability

In terms of the Industry division there is constant research into new projects for the satisfaction of current and potentially new customers, which the company regards as partners. The Bathroom-Kitchen division has just launched a new tap product line called Clé and is working on two new lines, to be launched within 2011, with a focus on eco-sustainable products.

The company is involved in a special project linked to its Clé line of bathroom products called “Un villaggio per amico” (A village as a friend), by which Ritmonio takes part in the project of canalisation and irrigation of the fields in Akadeli, in Kenya. This project is supported by the non-profit association “Un Villaggio per Amico-Onlus”.

Research is carried out internally, with the cooperation of external laboratories employed at testing level. Rubinetterie Ritmonio holds patents for some of its products and has received awards in international competitions, such as Compasso d’Oro, Design Plus, Good Design and iDa-International Design Awards.

Rubinetterie Ritmonio is rightly proud of the certifications that it has achieved. At the beginning of 2011 it has obtained the renewal of its ISO9001-2008 and can claim to have passed at the first attempt the ISO14001 environmental and the OHSAS18001 safety certifications. Thanks to considerable investments carried out in 2010, it is also one of the first companies in its industry able to claim to have an integrated certification system, covering quality, environment and safety. n

The forging company Lanfranchini has been present on the market since 1951, with its hot pressing activity and a wide range of brass components for taps in general. In-house mould manufacturing, experience and the employment of high technology machines allow it to produce large series of items according to the customer’s design.

STAMPERIA LANFRANCHINI Spa | Via Cremosina 2 | 13018 Valduggia (VC) Tel.: +39 0163 48141 | Fax: +39 0163 46140 www.stamperialanfranchini.it | info@stamperialanfranchini.it