Cable chains for dynamic applications

“Even if you are not aware of it, you encounter cable chains on a daily basis, because they are employed in a very wide variety of applications,” as Alessandro Saccani – Commercial Marketing Director of Brevetti Stendalto SpA, and Paolo Lovati, Marketing & Key Account Manager, explain to Barbara Rossi.

Brevetti Stendalto SpA was established by Giovanni Mauri in 1968. As well as setting up the company, Mr Mauri had the idea for the company’s flagship product: nylon cable chains. Although new versions and applications of nylon cable chains have been developed over the years, these are still the company’s core products and, furthermore, have become prevalent on the market, overtaking the previously leading steel cable chains.

Headquartered in Monza, near Milan, the Italian company manufactures all its products in Italy, with a turnover of €20 million a year. In addition to this, it has commercial and service subsidiaries in France, Germany, the US and China, which generate their own turnovers.

The flagship products are nylon cable chains, steel cable chains (for applications where nylon cannot be employed) and project solutions (in which the company starts working with its customers at the design phase, developing ad-hoc components with dimensions and other specifications tailored to clients’ needs). However, the Brevetti Stendalto range also includes robot chains, flexible cables, total chains and flexible sheathes. Brevetti Stendalto SpA distributes the Reiku flexible sheathes in both Italy and France.

“We offer products with four different levels of customisation. The first level comprises catalogue products. The second level features products with minor customisation. For instance, we may be asked to produce a cable chain in a different colour or with pins of a different colour. Usually our cable chains are black and the pins yellow, but obviously we can modify this. The next level is that of customised solutions, either in terms of total chain solutions – in other words solutions which feature standard components, but with ad-hoc assembly to fulfil individual clients’ needs – or solutions with standard components, but bespoke accessories especially developed for the client. At the fourth and highest level of customisation we offer our ‘project’ solutions, for which we start working with the client from scratch, i.e. from the design phase. These solutions do not contain standard products. Their components are totally customised, for instance at a dimensional level.”

New and recent products

Products developed in recent years include the new nylon chains ‘H’ series specifically designed for the most challenging applications. Its self-supporting capacity is remarkably higher than that of any other Brevetti nylon chain. Then there are the cable chains with rolling system for long-travel distance applications over one hundred metres: the 60R1 and 80R1 series. They have better friction-reducing features. We are also currently developing a third level of customisation product, which will feature multi-layer rotary solutions able to perform up to 1800 degree rotations.”

The company has two facilities in Italy: Monza and Mesero (the latter is between Milan and Turin). Mesero is where nylon cable

chains production takes place, covering all processing phases from raw nylon to pre-assembly. The products are then stocked and assembled in Monza. In addition to housing the headquarters and the warehouse, this is where steel components bought by external suppliers are assembled to produce steel cable chains, and where Reiku products are stored. The size of the Italian production sites is such that production increases could feasibly be accommodated.

“We are the leading Italian manufacturer of both nylon and steel cable chains. Our major competitors are at international level. To be successful we must distinguish ourselves from them by playing on our strengths, namely quality and flexibility. We have to offer a ‘best in class’ level of quality and service, in order to compete against the other European competitors and distinguish ourselves from low-cost competitors from the rest of the world. At the same time, we have to maintain our flexibility in terms of customisation and our focus on customers needs, something in which our competitors are somewhat lacking. In addition to all of this, we have to optimise our internal process and increase automation in production.

“I have to say that our black cable chains with a yellow pin have become our trademark, although as previously mentioned we can modify this colour combination if a client asks us to. Our low-cost competitors have started copying this colour combination. In a way, this makes us proud, but I must say that it is also a source of worry, as we need to make sure that our solutions are easily distinguishable from theirs.”

Due to the widespread use of cable chains in an extremely high number of applications (from cash machines to CT scanners, sliding

doors to adjustable seats in cars) the company serves multiple sectors. These are mainly machine tools, port cranes, bulk handling, telescopes and antennas, drilling machinery (for offshore and land rigs), earth moving machinery, organic waste processing plants and 3D printers.

Through partnerships and a network of distributors the company sells its solutions in several continents. Sixty-five per cent of turnover is generated through exports and, geographically, apart from Italy, the main markets served are France, Germany, the US and China. “We are also doing quite well in Spain, eastern European countries (including Russia) Scandinavia and the Middle East (particularly Dubai). Our future plans are centred around consolidating and increasing our presence in all of these markets. We usually try to do this through collaborations with new distributors, especially in new markets.

looking ahead

“In terms of future development, we are going to focus on service. Of course, we are also continuously going to develop new, ever better performing products. However, service is key, because the cable chains are increasingly a commodity, and what makes the difference now is greater service (in terms of product availability, delivery time, ‘on-time delivery’ and the capability to match the customer’s applications needs) rather than product performance. We also want to improve our turn-key solutions, offering an installation service carried out by our technicians with an attached extended guarantee, exceeding the standard statutory terms.”

Most recent investments have been channelled into marketing, to increase the company’s visibility at global level, and logistics, to improve the level of service offered to clients, especially in terms of quick deliveries. January saw the implementation of a totally automatised warehouse. The other area attracting investments has been R&D, both at research and testing levels. “Very soon we’ll launch our new website, with a product configurator facility for most of our standard products. Thanks to this, customers will be able to configure the design of their chosen product (and from 2018 check the price as well).

“All the suppliers that we use are very well-renowned and offer a level of quality undisputedly recognised on the market. Reiku, whose products we distribute, is one of these.” n

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