Date: November 17th, 2009
Interview to Lucio Montanari, President of Montanari Engineering Constructions S.r.l., and Massimiliano Mattioli, Export Manager.
Montanari Engineering Constructions S.r.l. is one of the Italian historical companies of the area of Modena, present in the market since the beginning of the Fifties. Year after year, this company has been able to constantly renovate its offer in the domain of industrial systems, becoming an international benchmark.
Mr Montanari, could you tell us the beginnings of the story of this company?
Well, everything began when my father, Nando, after 18 years in the Navy, came back home at the end of the 40’s. At first he started to work with his brother constructing gutters and pipes and then systems for mills handling. In the 50’s he bought a marshy land, where he built the first factory for the production of automated systems for goods transport.
What was exactly the field of use?
Initially, he focused on conveyor belts for tracks loading, later on machines for fruits and agricultural products handling, until, at the end of the 60’s, he decided to concentrate on a more industrial production which led us to build plants for Ducati and painting machines for Ferrari too. But we also devoted to ceramics and, for a short period, to meat processing, before focusing on the field of industrial laundries in the 90’s.
And today, Mr Montanari, is this your core business?
Yes indeed. This is a field which really giving us great satisfactions: we can say that we are the leading company in Italy in the field of manual and automated handling systems for industrial laundry
And what’s your market?
Ours is a market where potentially there are less customers, since industrial laundries cover big geographic areas and maybe in one area there are only 4-5 plants which serve the whole area. Nevertheless we are able to work well thanks to a significant presence in seven European countries: Spain, France, UK, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Poland.
Do requests change from one country to another?
We don’t make a standard planning: we work out custom-made plants according to our client’s needs, which can be really different also inside the same country. After all, we have always relied on a personal relationship with customers.
And what has changed in the manufacturing?
Well, before the role of mechanics was to reduce human efforts, now it’s different and more intelligent, since mechanics have been combined with management electronics through softwares which allow to oversee the whole producing cycle. For example, we have updated storage systems for industrial laundry (like the overhead system) and we have just elaborated a system of electronic tracking which, through a microchip, allows to constantly supervise the track of the item of clothing through the washing cycle. In so doing an industrial laundry can return just alike cloths to the right owners.
Mr Mattioli, does this imply a bigger effort in terms of customer care?
Nowadays it’s fundamental to assure the customer with the highest availability for any needs, and, since the software part is the heart of our business, we have a system of teleassistance which allows us to be constantly in contact with our customers. 5 minutes after a report, we are already able to send a repairman. This is a very important aspect, since our customers ‘ earnings rely on the efficiency of big machines, which can’t stop working.
How much does innovation cost in your sector?
Innovation is the basis of our technology. In the last years, we have been elaborating new machines thanks to new technologies, which offers new opportunities to our clients, since, thanks to them, they are able to manage the production cycles in a more efficient way.
COMPANY
Montanari Engineering Construction srl
ADDRESS: via Emilia Ovest 1123, Modena
EMPLOYEES: 30
EXPORT: 25%
MARKETS: Spain, France, UK, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic , Poland
WEBSITE: www.montanariengineering.com