A company was set up in the Bologna hinterland, in
Pianoro, after the Second World War that now sells its products to 50 countries
worldwide with a turnover of €100 million. Innovative by definition: this is
where linear fluorescent lamps were born, state-of-the-art technology at the
time that combined high efficiency and excellent colour quality. It now focuses
on reducing the impact on the environment, studying and innovating LED products
with a high degree of quality and efficiency. For FARE INSIEME Giampaolo
Colletti interviewed Giovanni Bonazzi, CEO of 3F Filippi
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
«We make light
here».
This is what Romano Bonazzi, an ingenious Emilian entrepreneur born in 1933 who
passed away in 2017, used to repeat as a mantra. He was behind that gem that
saw the light in 1952. This is the story of 3F Filippi, among the first Italian
companies to create and commercialize lighting systems with fluorescent lights.
Making light and making the best light. This is where 3F Linda was born: a
waterproof solution created in 1995 that continues to feature in the 3F Filippi
product range after various improvements. A product line that sold over 25
million pieces, an icon of industrial lighting. Bonazzi had a healthy obsession
for Italian-made products, he was in love with his land and with the people who
live and work there. Quite the opposite of delocalisation: even in the years
when this word became very popular and seemingly unavoidable, this Emilian
entrepreneur deep-seated in his roots. Of course the company sold its products
- as it still does - all over the world: 50 countries with an aggregated
turnover of €100 million made possible by the 400 people working in the three
production facilities covering 60 thousand square metres in Pianoro. We are in
the Bologna metropolitan area, in a town of less than 20 thousand inhabitants
along a road that extends south to Monghidoro.
Ideas, people, technologies. That of 3F
Filippi is the story of a family and of a business. But it is also the story of
ideas capable of making the difference in the field of professional lighting:
the first lighting fixtures destined to industries were manufactured right at
the start in the second postwar period. “We have always been an innovative company
capable of bringing the technological knowledge in the lighting technique
sector to the domestic market. At the time, linear fluorescent lamps
represented state-of-the-art technology that combined high efficiency with high
colour quality. A real novelty for Italy. The same as then, all our products
are designed as integrated solutions to meet the most diverse needs that
require energy efficiency and quality of light,” says Giovanni Bonazzi, son of
the founder and CEO of 3F Filippi, who has been working for the company for 35
years. People, ideas and technologies. “This is where automatic product wiring and
assembly are born, with two automated painting systems, interconnected systems
for sheet processing with laser cutting, automatic brushing and punching. Plus
there are four plastic moulding systems and two entirely automated warehouses.
Our certified laboratories feature various control tools to carry out tests on
temperature, electromagnetic compatibility, water- and dust-sealing, ball
throwing or salt spray resistance,” points out Bonazzi.
Then there is one of the most technologically-advanced tools: the
Goniophotometer with rotating mirror. This high-tech machine can guarantee the quality,
reliability and authenticity of the technical data of all products.
Lighting and attention to the environment. Shedding light on environmental impact as well. “We
manufacture products that are increasingly efficient and with a lower impact on
the environment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. We have been taking
a series of actions that focus mostly on applying lean production, i.e. the
production system that aims at minimising or eliminating waste, and on the use
of life cycle assessments from the procurement of raw materials to end-of-life
disposal for years: we have currently already reached 100 thousand hours of
operation,”
stresses Bonazzi. The consumption models puts a ban on “single-use” economy and
veers towards products that can be updated over time. “We want to contribute to
developing products such as platforms that can be adapted to customers’ needs
and to technological development. People are our main
resource. They strengthen the sense of community and corporate culture,” says
Bonazzi. Once again, we talk about district. “We have shown enviable
resilience during these turbulent times thanks mostly to our ability to create
a system: companies, public administrations and trade unions. Our relationships
are always based on collaboration,” concludes Bonazzi. After all, doing business means
creating a community!
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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