Forging ahead with high-precision hand tools Unior

oping new products such as wheel aligners, recently resulting in a new product, called Vistar, a workstation for fast and accurate alignment measurement. Moreover, continuous product updates are carried out for all of the lifting range.” Mr Santi explained. “We are very active in R&D. In fact, all our products are designed and developed by us, here in Italy, using European manufactured components. We have three dedicated R&D departments: one at Ravaglioli for lifting equipment, one at Butler for tyre servicing and one at Space Srl for hardware and software for the electronics parts. Overall we invest about 5 per cent of turnover in R&D every year. Each of the companies of the division is present on the market, with personalised products and comprehensive catalogues, and each of them has its own specialisation.”

As well as having been ISO 9001:2008 certified for years, the division headed by Ravaglioli also holds all relevant EC approval standards and fulfils the requirements of most of the world automotive and tyre manufacturers.

Growing, despite the recession

“We have always invested in R&D, even during the crisis period. Before the current crisis we were invoicing about €138 million, but since then this level has been slightly lowered to €125 million. I have to say that we have only marginally suffered from the recent economic downturn and in the past four years, overall, we have invested about €25–30 million. First of all, Butler SpA has moved to a new location, and €13 million were channelled into developing its new 14,000m2 site; then we spent €2–3 million in machinery on a yearly basis. I also believe that Sirio has one of the most modern and better equipped sites that can be found in our sector, featuring highly automated production machinery.”

The group’s main clients are distributors that supply car dealers as well as repair and tyre shops, and testing centres. Products are also sold to automotive and tyre manufacturers – or their branches located all over the world. Export plays a major role, as previously discussed, and the main markets are European countries where the group is present with subsidiaries, followed by North America and then the Far East and India.

“In future we will certainly continue to improve and update our range. We have made a big effort in North America, which is paying off, as in recent years we have witnessed an important turnover increase there. Now we are also working hard in terms of the Far East and India.

“Joint ventures are not part of our philosophy, as we like to retain control of what we are doing. On the other hand, acquisitions might be possible, considering that in Italy we are a very profitable company in our sector, and opportunities could arise, either on the Italian or European horizon. What we are not interested in doing is delocalising our production outside Europe. For us all our future development will be centred around an increase of credibility on the markets, thanks to growing product quality, exactly to differentiate ourselves from competitors in emerging countries. We are obviously aware of the fact that the European market is experiencing a period of crisis, which has even started affecting Germany, but we have managed to avoid a dip in European sales, thanks to an increase in market share. We are going to try to further improve our market penetration and our after-sales offer, while we will also take full advantage of opportunities for growth leaps outside of Europe, focusing on North America, the Far East and India.” n

Unior is a global manufacturer with four distinct production areas: forging and sinter parts; hand tools; CNC machines and tourism. Philip Yorke takes a closer look at a company that continues to demonstrate strong growth and develop cutting-edge innovative products for both industry and consumers alike.

FORGING AHEAD WITH

HIGH-PRECISION HAND TOOLS

Unior was founded in Slovenia in 1919 as Stajerska Zrece and began as a foundry, manufacturing forged hand tools for the farming, forestry and craft industries. It was renovated in 1947 after the Second World War and renamed the Factory of Forged Tools Zreče. In the 1970s the plant was upgraded along with a new development strategy and its current name: Unior, which was created from the words Univerzalno Orodje meaning Universal Tools. By the 1980s, Unior had established itself as an important partner of the European automotive industry.

Today Unior enjoys an enviable reputation worldwide for its high-precision hand tools and innovative designs and is comprosed of four business segments: hand tools, forging parts, special machines and tourism. In 2012, Unior recorded sales of more than €141 million and currently employs