In
Modena’s industrial estate, there is a family business now run by the second
generation that makes springs for various uses. Of course, a spring is just a
spring, but they are made differently now, with modern processes and machines
that reduce the need for manual processing. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo
Colletti interviewed Matteo Cionini, CEO of Mollificio Modenese.
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
Everyday
life - and life in the company one works for - is truly unpredictable. It is
made up of ups and downs, occurrences and reocurrences that often turn it from
an individual into a collective one. After all, we are all connected! This is
also the case of Mollificio Modenese. We find ourselves in Modena, in the
Torrazzi industrial estate that is brimming with companies. It is here that,
towards the end of the 1950s, a company was set up that would make a difference
over time. But let's proceed in an orderly fashion. Mollificio Modenese was
born from the intuition of two brothers who decided to do business together. We
are talking about Mario and Alfio Landi, two former employees of Mollificio
Industriale Persicetano, a company that made history around these parts.
Giuseppe Cionini, who everybody knows as Ivan, soon became an employee. Then,
over the years, came more experience as well as the entrepreneurial leap
together with another two partners and the creation of another spring factory
still in existence. But things never remain the same. Due to disagreements,
Giuseppe Cionini leaves the company he helped set up in 1990 and, at the same
time, the Landi brothers decide to give up their business. Their paths meet
again. Thus the Landis get in touch with him and find an agreement. A new
business was born.
The history.
Hydraulic cylinders, medical equipment, machines for ceramics and for
packaging, robotics, tractors, seats, cleaning machines, lifts, stairlifts,
yachting, brakes, pumps, valves, sprinklers, lifelines, waste management. When
you mention springs, a world opens up! Today, the company can manufacture a
wide range of springs, hooks, metal parts and shaped pieces. It employs 14
people for over 600 clients a year and an overall turnover that exceeded €2
million in 2023. “Springs are a very versatile product, necessary for products
of all kinds. Our clients feature companies that produce machinery for the
agricultural sector. Then there is the construction sector. Then again
packaging, lighting, sailing, industrial machines for the cleaning and medical
sector,” illustrates Matteo Cionini, CEO of Mollificio Modenese, an Emilian
entrepreneur with a degree in Computer Engineering and the second generation at
the helm of the family business started in 2003. “I took up the reins and with
my passion for the digital world we were never caught unprepared with the
arrival of the Internet, industry 4.0 and the whole digital revolution of the
past twenty years. I worked in production during the first years and learned
how to use most machines, which was essential to forecast any problems. The
hardest moment? 2009 when turnover dropped by 40%. The best one? 2023 or, more
precisely, the day we finished paying off the mortgage on the building, which
is finally all ours,” recalls Cionini.
Values and
vision. “Our characteristic is productive flexibility and the wide range of
products supplied. At product level, nothing has changed in decades, after all:
a spring is a spring, but they are made differently now, with modern processes
and machines that reduce the need for manual processing. At the moment, we are
studying the various aspects linked with sustainability, not just
environmental, but also concerning people and governance, so as to embark on a
path that will further improve our impact on the environment and on
communities,” says Cionini. Over the years, in addition to traditional
materials such as spring steel and stainless steel, we have introduced copper,
bronze and inconel. The company is located in that Emilia Valley that boasts
districts increasingly interconnected with global markets, yet still anchored
to its history, to its roots. Cionini has no doubts. “I love my city and my
land. I don’t think I could live just as well elsewhere. After all, when
talking about Emilia all over the world, it is immediately associated with the
idea of things done well and with love. Plus it is easy to do business here:
all the services, treatments and processes needed are within a range of just a
few km.” This is the recipe for success. Working as a team on the territory,
but also with different teams.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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