Value-added steel Cividale Group

innovative research and development has reinforced its competitiveness in the area of super finishing and has enhanced its position in international markets.

Today Lapmaster Wolters offers a unique and comprehensive scope of highprecision processing machines. These range from single-wheel and two-wheel fine-grinding machines via double-side flat grinding machines, through-feed grinders and lapping, polishing, honing and deburring machines for flat work pieces up to compact high-precision multi-spindle machines for economic inner diameter and outer diameter grinding as well as polygon grinding. The range is completed with the supply of consumables and spare parts, including diamond fine-grinding wheels, grinding spindles and quills, piece carriers, polishing pads and so on.

Meeting customer needs

“We continue to develop new products to serve the needs of our diverse customer base,” said a company spokesperson. “For example, we have developed several new technologies for our customers in the silicon wafer manufacturing industry.

“This industry is struggling to make any profit at all, squeezed between manufacturing costs and consumer expectations for computer equipment. We are making products that enable a higher throughput and better yields.”

Investing in the company

Investment is on-going at Lapmaster Wolters, especially as customers are increasingly requesting ‘one-stop shopping’. They are

looking for the company to be able to meet all their surface finishing needs.

“We continue to invest both in internal research and development and through acquisition of complementary technologies. In 2009, we acquired the assets and intellectual property of the US-based Micron, a manufacturer of creep feed grinding equipment that largely serves the aerospace and automotive industries,” said the spokesperson.

Global growth

The company does about 70 per cent of its business in Germany and about 90 per cent in Europe. But this is set to change.

“Lapmaster Wolters has a long history and a large customer base in Europe - but our business is developing rapidly in other parts of the world. Around half of our business now is in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan.

“Our company is moving into every growing economy. Three years ago we opened a sales and service location in India and we our taking system orders from Thailand. The BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are also a focal point for our sales and service activities.

“As these economies grow and wealth increases, there is a demand for better quality and better technologies. They therefore require equipment that is of a higher quality.”

Looking ahead

Future growth plans for Lapmaster Wolters were multi-faceted. Its strong market presence in the growing economies of the world provides an anchor to its strategy.

“Finding new technological solutions that enable profitability for our silicon and sapphire substrate manufacturing customers is key to market share growth,” concludes the spokesperson. “Continuing our growth through our acquisition strategy will enable us to add complementary technologies that will both grow our business and enable our customers by providing them with solutions to their high-tolerance requirements.” n

VALUE-ADDED STEEL

Luigi Scordamaglia, Sales Director of the Cividale Group, talks to Barbara Rossi about the important changes implemented by the company since the last conversation with Industry Europe. These include a new foundry based in Russia, production of subsea compressors, castings for large construction projects like stadiums and suspended bridges.

The Cividale group started its activity in the late 1960s in north eastern Italy, where the group is still mainly based today. Specifically the headquarters are in the town of Tavagnacco, in the Udine area, where the group started its business in the steel casting field with Acciaieria Fonderia Cividale SpA, initially producing mainly steel billets for forging and manganese steel castings. From 1977 onwards, an expansion process started through the acquisition and creation of other foundries, thus leading to the actual Cividale Group, which today serves worldwide clients involved in the power generation, oil and gas, ship-building and mechanical engineering industries.

Today the group employs 1450 people overall and achieved a 2012 turnover of €360 million. Among the different foundries within Cividale Group, the castings production ranges from a few grams of investmentcastings up to 90 tons hand-moulded steel castings, in all different steel grades, from low carbon steel to high alloy steel, stainless steel,