A high technology focus Emmegi

A HIGH TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Emmegi is an Italian company engaged in aluminium, light alloy and PVC profiles processing equipment. Barbara Rossi spoke to the strategic marketing director, Marco Bellucci, to find out more about its hi-tech products and global presence.

The Emmegi Group’s main site is based in Limidi di Soliera, in the Modena area of northern Italy, where it was established in 1970. Its activities have constantly evolved and in 2006 it has added a line of machines for the processing of PVC profiles to its existing range of aluminium and light alloy profile processing equipment. The company offers both individual machines and turnkey systems and also produces all the software necessary to control them. The range of products includes automatic systems, working centres, cutting machines, copy routers, drilling machines, PVC welders, corner cleaning machines, handling and assembly solutions, automatic storage units, painting systems and office and workshop software.

Emmegi has a range of standard products, but is also able to offer a significant degree of customisation, which means that it is able to fulfil most clients’ needs. Most of the company’s products are destined for the door and window manufacturing industry, but Emmegi also supplies other industries, such as the furniture, lighting, pneumatic, rail, truck trailer and oil platform sectors. All PVC products are supplied to the door and window industry, as well as around 70 per cent of the aluminium and light alloys, while the remaining 30 per cent of the metal range is supplied to the other industries mentioned above. The company is continuously evolving all its product lines, either by upgrading existing products or by launching new ones, as maintaining high levels of technology is central to its production.

Curved curtain walls Curved curtain walls Building shell and window wall realisation Building shell and window wall realisation Production sites

Emmegi has three production sites in Italy, a production site in China and a series of commercial offices. The company’s main site in Limidi di Soliera covers an area of 42,000m2 and manufactures the entire PVC range, a wide spectrum of aluminium and light alloy profile processing machines. On the other hand the Ponte dell’Olio site, near the northern Italian town of Piacenza, is dedicated to the production of CNC working centres for the processing of aluminium and light alloy profiles. The third Italian site is located in Pesaro, on the Adriatic coast of central Italy, and houses the PVC research and development centre, as well as manufacturing prototypes for the PVC range (aluminium and light alloy R&D takes place at the Limidi di Soliera site).

The Chinese site is based in Suzhou and is concerned with the manufacture of all the low technology products, such as small single head saws, assembly benches, bar trol-

Comet T6, CNC 4-axis machining centre

Quadra L1, CNC 12-axis through feed machining centre for light alloy profiles Quadra L1, CNC 12-axis through feed machining centre for light alloy profiles

Headquarters Emmegi, Interior design Headquarters Emmegi, Interior design Marco Bellucci Marco Bellucci Marketing Director Emmegi Group and MD Marketing Director Emmegi Group and MD Emmegi Suisse Emmegi Suisse

leys and ordinary pantographs. The production of low technology products is gradually being moved to China in its entirety, but this is not expected to impact in a major way on the percentage of production taking place in Italy, as the core of Emmegi’s output is composed mainly of high technology machines.

Hub centred distribution

In the last few years Emmegi’s main investments have been channelled into establishing the PVC machines production, setting up the Chinese production plant and considerably enlarging the presence of its commercial branches worldwide. Last year, Emmegi made considerable investments into opening its Brazilian commercial site and expanding the German branch, which had been set up in 2007. Emmegi has numerous commercial branches and distributors. Up until last year most of these were supported by the Lugano site. Now the main commercial offices act as real hubs, dealing with both the geographical market in which they are based and with those of bordering countries. Each of these hubs is equipped with showrooms, and sparepart warehouses, which are therefore able to offer a full technical service. For instance, the German site, as well as taking care of the German market, is also responsible for the eastern European countries, while the Swedish branch takes care of the whole of Scandinavia. The Swiss branch is also responsible for Belgium and Holland, while the US site also covers Canada, the Spanish branch also oversees North Africa and Portugal as well as Central and South America where a few dealerships have been established, apart from Brazil where Emmegi has its own branch. The UK branch also looks after Ireland, and the Turkish branch also covers Iran. The Chinese branch is also responsible for a few Far Eastern markets.

Although Italy is the biggest single market for Emmegi, it accounts for significantly less than 50 per cent of turnover (in the past it accounted for about 35 per cent of turnover, but now exports are of increasing importance). Emmegi is present in all the western European markets, as well as in some eastern European countries such as Poland, followed at some length by Russia, and then by Slovakia and the Czech Republic, as well as by Hungary, Ukraine and Byelorussia. Its network of distributors covers other countries worldwide such as the Middle East, India, Australia, South East Asia, South America and some African countries.

Mr Bellucci stressed how Emmegi intends to grow in India and Turkey, and plans to widen its presence in South America particularly thanks to its new Brazilian branch. Future growth will be of an organic nature but, as Mr Bellucci pointed out, acquisitions or joint ventures cannot be ruled out. The future growth in terms of products will be driven surely by the aluminium and light alloy range which represents the core business of the group but also by the newer PVC lines where the completion of the range is foreseen. Mr Bellucci said: “Complete workshops and turnkey systems will be the basis of our future expansion.” n