Innovation with a conscience Sabaf Group

INNOVATION WITH A CONSCIENCE

The Sabaf Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of gas home appliance components and hinges for domestic ovens, washing machines, dryers and dishwashers – but it also has a social conscience. Barbara Rossi talks to CEO Angelo Bettinzoli to find out more.

Sabaf was originally established as a familyrun producer of various brass products in Brescia, Italy, soon after the end of World War II. In the 1960s, with the economic boom and rapid growth of the household appliances sector, the company decided to begin producing valves for gas cooking appliances. A further development occurred in the 1980s when, alongside valve products, the company started designing and manufacturing burners for gas appliances. In the 1990s it was listed on the Milan stock exchange and underwent an organisational change to promote growth. This was followed in the next decade by the acquisition of the Italian company Faringosi Hinges Srl, the establishment of Sabaf do Brasil, and the transfer of core production processes to the new site in Ospitaletto, Brescia, where it also began the production of its new light aluminium alloy taps.

Today’s product range

The Sabaf Group designs and manufactures components for gas cooking appliances, such as taps, thermostats, burners, accessories and hinges. The last category of products, manufactured by Faringosi Hinges Srl, facilitates the smooth opening and closing of oven, washing machine, dishwasher and dryer doors. Burners currently hold the greatest market share, followed by taps and thermostats and hinges. In addition to the design and manufacture of these products, Sabaf offers assistance services and has a hi-tech testing laboratory where it can test its products’ compliance with all relevant worldwide legislation.

In terms of new products, Sabaf is currently developing new special dual taps made of extruded aluminium alloy. The company has also developed a new set of burners, initially developed to meet the needs of the Chinese market but which, later on, has been engineered to be suitable for other markets. It’s based on a high power, efficient dual burner with various flamespreader options: an aluminium one for standard usage, a brass ring one for high end products and a torch burner

Since 1971, Tavelli F.lli Snc has been making use of its technical expertise to design and manufacture aluminium, Zamak and plastic die casting moulds, used in various sectors such as telecommunications, the automotive industry, electronics and the most recent market concerned with renewable energy.

The company covers a total of 1,500 square metres and employs a staff currently consisting of 20 employees.

Our facility manufactures equipment used for die casting parts with presses up to 1,200 tonnes.

Equipment used in the department: 1 5-axis machining center Mikron HPM800U, 3 High speed CNC milling machines (DMG, Mikron), 3 CNC milling machines, 2 Small milling machines, 2 CNC EDM (Agie), 1 Wire cut EDM Robofil 440 SLP, 1 Delta grinding machine, 2 Lathes, 1 Mould testing machine with wax, 1 3D measuring machine.

Programs used in the technical department: Pro Engineer 3D CAD (CREO), Autocad 2D CAD, 3D CAD Delcam / Mechanical Desktop, WorkNC CAM / Cutting.

The company strives daily to maintain high standards of procedure allowing it to obtain the certification ISO 9001:2008.

Tavelli F.lli snc via Seradello, 163 - 25068 Ponte Zanano (BS) - Italy Tel: +39 030 831453 Fax: +39 030 8911579 E-mail: tecnico@tavelli.it / info@tavelli.it

which is particularly suitable for Chinese wok cooking. They share the same platform and therefore, just by changing the top part, one or the other can be mounted on the same cooker or hob.

Sabaf is also designing a new and versatile low energy consumption burner, available in two versions sharing the same platform. This means that, just by changing the top section, the two versions can again be alternatively mounted on the same cooker or built-in hob – offering the option of a simplified burner targeted to the Indian market in particular, or a double-flame three-power burner suitable for the European and American market. In 2010 the accessory range was completed with the addition of electrodes.

Investing in the future

The Sabaf Group had sales revenues of €77.5 million in the first half of 2011 and employs 700 people. The group is composed of the holding company Sabaf SpA and of the subsidiaries Faringosi Hinges Srl, based in Milan, and Sabaf Do Brasil which manufactures burners for the South American market. The group also includes Sabaf Immobiliare, which manages its real estate, as well as Sabaf Appliance Components (Kunshan) Co., Ltd., Sabaf US Corporation and Sabaf Mexico S.a.d.c.v. which are presently all commercial companies. However, both the Chinese and Mexican sites have warehouses which could easily be transformed into future production sites.

In the first quarter of 2011, Sabaf also established a company in Turkey which is set to become another production site. This 10,000m2 site is currently under construction and is expected to be ready by the first half of 2012, when it will start the production of burners. The group increased its production capacity by adding 4000m2 to its Ospitaletto factory.

The new building was completed at the end of 2011. In 2010 Sabaf also invested in a new project – a tap made of light aluminium alloy which can be mounted on any type of cooker or built-in hob. This product is already available on the market.

Sabaf supplies its products to manufacturers of domestic gas cookers, built-in hobs and ovens as well as manufacturers of home appliances such as washing machines, dryers, ovens and dishwashers. forty-one per cent of sales are in Italy, 8 per cent in the rest of western Europe, 25 per cent in eastern Europe and the remaining 26 per cent in the rest of the world. However, a lot of the products sold in Italy are for appliances which are then exported. In the future the group intends to increase its presence in China and India, thanks to the above-mentioned special products taht it has developed for these markets, as well as in the USA with its series III and special burners.

In the main, Sabaf intends to follow an organic expansion pattern. Its strategy is to pursue growth on international markets, replicating its cultural and industrial model in emerging countries.

Taking responsibility

Sabaf aims to continue offering high quality and advanced technology, resulting in superior product performance in terms of environmental friendliness. The main material used by the group, aluminium, requires less energy expenditure during its processing than other materials employed in the industry and also allows it to manufacture products which can offer energy saving advantages to end users, as well as lower CO2 emissions. The group’s strategies also include the continuous development of new products to better meet customers’ needs.

Furthermore, Sabaf will carry on developing the technical skills of its employees, its image and its reputation. It has achieved the latter thanks to the attention it dedicates to social issues, such as the Sabaf Charter of Values initiative, written according to the methodology recommended by SEAN and the Instituto Europeo per il Bilancio Sociale (IBS), which is based on the most important legislation and guidelines regarding human rights and corporate social responsibility both in Italy and globally. n

We are a company which has been active in the packaging sector since 1952. Our activities consist of the manufacturing of various items able to satisfy the diverse needs linked to the commercialisation of your products.

Such items are as follows: * CONVERSION OF BOXES, BIG BOXES, DIVIDERS, BEEHIVES ETC WITH LOW/WAVE, MICRO/WAVE, GLOSS, TRIPLE AND MICROTRIPLE CARDBOARD, BOTH PATTERNED OR PLAIN.

Furthermore, the optimisation of production costs has allowed us to make our products strongly competitive on the packaging sales market, nevertheless maintaining a high qualitative level.

Bianchi Imballaggi Srl Via Rango 16 25065 Lumezzane (BS) Tel: 030826431 - Fax: 0308921879 amministrazione@bianchiimballaggi.it