Partnerships in supply Stima

“We build the future together” OE Industry

PARTNERSHIPS IN SUPPLY

Being able to combine its family dimension, experience, special location, skilled staff, added-value service and a comprehensive catalogue of quality products is what has allowed Stima to stand out from its competitors, as Barbara Rossi finds out from Federico Mazzanti, the commercial director of the company.

“Stima was established as a distributor of industrial automation products in the Bologna area, in 1965, by my grandparents, Elves Valbonesi and Aureliano Cariani. My grandmother Elves Valbonesi has just retired from the company at the age of 83. Today, we operate from a 4000m2 site located at the Bologna, Modena and Ferrara crossroads (in the north-eastern Italian EmiliaRomagna region). We are still a family company with pneumatic products as our core business. The company philosophy is that of combining family values and a rate of growth keeping pace with an evolving market. Furthermore, we are based in a very special area, as we are in the middle of what is called the packaging valley. The Bologna area is the centre of pneumatic technology at European level, so we have reaped the advantages of this location, which has offered us the opportunity to grow in a significant way both in terms of product suppliers and clients,” Mr Mazzanti explains.

Stima distributes products of several manufacturers, so as to be able to offer a 100 per cent complete range in the pneumatic field, unmatched in the sector. 90 per cent of the products listed in the catalogue are available for prompt deliveries, thanks to the warehouse facilities of the company. One of Stima’s speciailties is having a large stock of compressed air tanks, allowing it to deliver these products, in just one day.

Not suppliers or clients, but partners

The company is not a simple distributor. On the contrary, it offers a real added value to its clients, in the form of services that often the actual manufacturer of the product is not able to give. As Mr Mazzanti says “This can also take place thanks to the fact that we have long-term, highly skilled staff able to offer these services, namely pre and post-sales support, technical support for designing and manufacturing pneumatic and electro-pneumatic control panels and circuits on customers’ request, customised solutions and, thanks to our workshop, the production of non-standard-stroke cylinders and anti-rotation guides in a day’s time, thus offering sizes not covered by the products’ manufacturers. Moreover we offer training courses on pneumatics and vacuum technology developed by our technical department. A laboratory room has been set up for this purpose to accommodate our partners who are interested in this and offer them practical ideas. We believe that promoting the circulation of knowledge is the best way to grow and develop together. For us our clients are not simply clients and the same applies to our suppliers. For almost 50 years they have been our partners.”

Stima is very proud of its Seco System 2008, a compressed air dryer, driven by a roll-

ing module and featuring automatic extraction of moisture. The patent for this product was purchased a few years ago and Stima has been producing and distributing it since, with exclusive rights.

Stima, with a €10m turnover and a staff of 36 people supplies clients in various sectors, in other words in any field where compressed air is employed. Its clients, many of which produce automatic machines for the packaging sector, include IMA SpA, GD SpA, the Marchesini Group, Cefla, Sacmi and BredaMenarini. In Mr Mazzanti’s words, “Our range and retention of prestigious clients proves that, despite the fact that we are a family company, we are at the cutting edge.”

The customer base features manufacturers of industrial machines (accounting for approximately 50 per cent of turnover), resellers (30 per cent) and maintenance companies (20 per cent). Resellers are based both in Italy and abroad (mainly in Eastern European countries) and export accounts for 15 per cent of turnover, while manufacturers and maintenance companies are mainly based in Italy. In terms of distribution of Camozzi products, Stima operates in the north central regions of Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Umbria and in the island region of Sardinia.

“We have recently made significant investments in hardware and software for logistics management, maximising the digitalisation of

our warehouse procedures and, moreover, our warehouse already has the potential for accommodating larger volumes. Another step that we are taking, as part of our continuous improvement strategy, is that of carrying out internal restructuring so as to grow our commercial capacity. Our offer is strongly linked to service, as our distinguishing features are competence and flexibility, as well as competitiveness” Mr Mazzanti states, further adding “for instance our service now also includes support with regard to bureaucratic procedures, such as management of customs’ certificates, making sure that we are always up to date with new legislation, in order to be able to best assist our clients. We are also investing a lot in our website, so as to be able to use it as a means of creating a direct contact with our customers, allowing them to check our stock levels and/or download products’ technical specifications.

“We are happy with our supplier base, but we could further expand it, if this was needed to respond to market demands. We strongly believe in distributing made-in-Italy products, and that is why we are trying to focus our distribution on them. We give companies operating on the national and international markets, which are currently purchasing components/ products of other European or non-European origin, the opportunity to use made-in-Italy products, as we really believe in their worthiness and the added value that we can give,” Mr Mazzanti concludes. n

since 1961

ZEC S.p.A. Via Lungolorno, 11 - 43052 Colorno (Pr) - Italy Tel: +39 0521 816631 - Fax: +39 0521 816772 - Email: info@zecspa.com - www.zecspa.com Nel 1961 la ITW Vortec diventa la prima campagnia a sviluppare la tecnologia per convertire il fenomeno vortex tube in soluzioni effettive per il raffreddamento industriale. Da quel momento la ITW Vortec ha continuatio a perfezionare e a espandere le applicazioni del vortex tube, cosi come a sviluppare altri metodi per utilizzare l’aria compressa in modo effi ciente.