A company set up in Bologna in 1970 has become a point of reference for marking, coding and label inspection and control systems. Nimax currently boasts 100 employees, over 6,000 active clients with over 19,000 units installed and a turnover of €25 million i.e. 15% more than the previous year. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo Colletti interviewed Nicola Montanari, CEO of Nimax
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
Oh, the Seventies. Think about it. This is how tales about this decade usually start. But the truth is that it is possible to read a series of contrasting emotions behind this statement. These were complex and difficult years in Italy and all over the world. They were years of economic, political and systemic crisis. But they were also the years of experimentation and courage, when everyone wanted to throw their hearts into reaching beyond the obstacle. Also and above all into that Emilia that is home to a thousand brilliant intuitions, characterized by teamwork and by the ability to scale international markets. After all, Nimax is such a story, a business set up in 1970 in Bologna in the heart of the packaging valley that the entire world envies. Everything started with the extensive experience of professionals from the Italian industry producing automatic machines, two former servicing technicians from the well-known Bologna company G.D. In the beginning, the objective was to manufacture small electronic systems through subcontracting. The turning point came almost ten years later. It was 1979 when Nimax encountered the rising technology of ink-jet printing. A few months later in 1980, it became a distributor for VideoJet, which is currently its main competitor in America. At the time, however, this made Nimax the Italian pioneer when it came to contactless continuous ink-jet codifying. It may sound weird but, to put it simply, it means innovation in packaging as continuous ink-jet means multiplying orders while optimizing costs. In 1982, the company then became the exclusive distributor in Italy for Domino Amjet, now known as Domino Printing Sciences, a global producer of coding and marking systems.
The services offered. Technology, yet with a lot of skills involved. Because its extensive knowledge of everyday issues in the automatic machinery world due to the specific needs of the various production lines immediately provided Nimax with a very pragmatic technical imprinting. Thus, meeting market needs promptly and in a concrete manner soon became an actual mantra. And this characteristic makes it an Italian excellence to this day. “To us, quality is an identity choice, it is a way to ensure that each client receives the maximum efficiency in coding, product inspection and labelling. We have always wanted to be a point of reference for product identification, customisation and traceability solutions and services as well as for marking, coding, inspection, control and labelling systems,” explains Nicola Montanari, CEO of Nimax. We are located in Bologna, but our technical and commercial offices are also in Milan, Padua and Avellino. The company boasts 100 employees working for all production markets: food&beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, tobacco, cosmetics, heavy industry and white goods. Figures are top-breaking with over 6,000 active clients and over 19,000 units installed for a turnover of €25 million, i.e. 15% more than the previous year. The internal repair lab specializes in all technologies, while 80% of faults are resolved within 48 hours from when they are reported. Nimax Labs performs over 2,500 samplings a year with 8 different coding technologies on supports provided by clients with resistance tests, plus it produces 200 annual reports on the tests carried out using metal detector, X-ray and checkweigher systems on 1,600 items managed by the Bologna warehouse. Over 96% of consumer material deliveries are on time or early with respect to the date requested by the client. “We are a commercial business that is always looking for technologies that can help our clients automate their production lines. The capillarity of our sales network and, even more, that of our technical networks always keeps us close to our clients. We do not base our business on price but, if our clients understand that a structure like ours is necessary in order to have a technician available in a short time, then they will focus on the value of our proposition,” stresses Montanari.
The production lines. Penetrating the heart of the production line and making a difference. “Every line is a peculiar and complex mechanism. That is why the marking and coding components and the inspection systems we provide are designed to integrate with the entire line. And why we reason in terms of systems and not simple machines. We do not just supply marking or inspection systems, we want to guarantee a high standard of quality that is constant over time,” says Montanari. From industrial markers to metal detectors for the food industry, from labelling to quality checks and from food packaging to the coding and marking of pharmaceutical products. This is where specific product tests based on the characteristics of the production process used is born, as well as other parameters typical of its life cycle: environment, temperature, chemical agents, durability. Looking ahead, without ever stopping. This is the Nimax creed. Montanari believes it too. “We are constantly searching for new products and services to improve our clients’ production lines. The best innovation is looking towards the future, while always listening.”
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