Reaching for the stars Forgital Group

REAChiNG foR ThE STARS

The Forgital Group of Italy has been a driving force within the aerospace industry since it was first involved in the Ariane IV space launch project in 2014. The group is equally pre-eminent in other key industries that require state-of-the-art technologies, such as Oil & Gas and advanced vehicle transmission systems. Philip Yorke reports.

The Forgital Group of Italy is a global company that specialises in the manufacture of forged and laminated steel rings made of carbon steels, alloy steels, stainless steels and titanium alloys. Forgital Italy was founded in 1873 by the Spezzapria family near Trento, Italy. Today the fifth generation of the family continues to direct and manage the company, whilst constantly improving its diverse range of engineering activities.

Innovation has always been at the heart of Forgital’s business activities with high levels of investment in research, modern production installations and sophisticated monitoring and testing systems. Sustainability and protection of the environment are also key priorities at Forgital.

The precision rolled rings manufactured by the company cover an extremely wide range of applications and are used throughout manufacturing industries worldwide. Forgital products are supplied

in a variety of prescribed formats. These include heat-treated, semifinished or machine-finished products and all are delivered complete with the relevant certification attesting to the high-quality technological properties of the materials used. These raw materials have been predetermined for their quality as a result of a number of non-destructive testing programmes.

Delivering operational excellence

The Forgital Group guarantees operational excellence throughout its entire production processes. This is achieved via its dedicated ‘Operational Excellence Team’. This highly qualified department is committed to ensuring the continuity of improvement in both its production and management processes.

The Forgital Group has recently entered the aero engine market and joined the exclusive circle of companies qualified in the supply of vital aero engine parts. These parts include components for both turbojet and turboprop engines which have been designed for the most advanced aircraft in production today.

Forgital has also invested heavily in the oilfield sector making it possible to offer major competitive advantages and qualitative improvements

across the board to its customers. For deep water activities, Forgital provides key components for the drilling of offshore wells, for submarine wellheads and products for conveying petroleum. In the surface sector, the Forgital Group was the first company in the world to achieve the mass production of high-precision rolled balls for ball valves. For surface applications it supplies ball valve components for gas and oil pipelines, as well as other key equipment such as closures, bodies, flanges, j-lay collars, connectors and boxes.

Rolls Royce standards

The Forgital Group’s sister company ‘FLY’ was founded in 2008 and celebrated ten years of progress in 2018. It is the group’s dedicated production centre for the manufacture of high-precision components for the aerospace industry. FLY’s turnover is growing strongly, driven in part by its premier contracts for the supply of components for the latest Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines. This major, prestige contract will double the company’s workforce by the year 2020.

Further positive developments have included the on-going involvement of the Forgital Group in the European launcher for the Ariane 5 space rocket programme. This has resulted in the realisation of several other high profile contracts in the aviation industry. As a result of this strong and continuous growth, the Forgital Group has allocated almost €30 million, in association with the Province of Trento, Italy, for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art plant located adjacent to the existing facility.

Since its early beginnings in 2008 the plant has tripled its productive working area from 6,000 to 17,500 square metres. The award of these latest contracts will mean the addition of a further 6,600 square metres of production capacity for the company’s FLY aerospace division. As a direct result of Forgital’s sister company’s success in the aerospace sector, its turnover has doubled year on year going from a few hundred thousand euros, to around €175 million today.

Top gear

The Forgital Group not only guarantees excellence for its customers, but also provides value added services. With its close partnership style, fast and efficient production and transitional work flows, customers can outperform their competitors. Dedicated customer services also include ongoing consultations and the reassurance provided by a high-reliability organisation, that is also committed to sustainability and protection of the environment. These attributes

become critically important when it involves extreme applications and serious demands on product excellence.

In these circumstances, Forgital’s customers can rely on guaranteed quality, long service life, logistical flexibility and cutting-edge technology that keeps them one step ahead of the field. When it comes to the production of vital components such as bearings, gear wheels and shafts, reliability and long service life is paramount. The Forgital Group makes components for gear wheel and slewing bearing sectors such as toothed wheels for platforms, port and naval cranes, excavators and wind turbines. The company’s dedicated client services and unrivalled high-quality products makes the Forgital Group the ideal partner for the world’s most sophisticated engineering projects n

For further details of the Forgital Group’s latest innovative products and services visit: www.forgital.com