It all started fifty years ago in the Ferrara area from the observation of a jar with a hole. Today Bonfiglioli Engineering is a world leader in quality control solutions for all packaging requirements in the pharmaceutical, food, chemical and personal care industries. Giampaolo Colletti interviews Andrea Cavanna, General Manager of Bonfiglioli Engineering, for FARE INSIEME
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri and Francesca Aufiero
You know, not all doughnuts come out with a hole. But what about jars? Well, those really shouldn't have a hole. And yet it was a hole in a jar - or rather, according to some, more than one - that gave birth to a brilliant intuition in Giuseppe Bonfiglioli. An idea that fifty years ago allowed him to create a company that is still in the limelight today. For Giuseppe, it all started with a friend who produced metal cans that sometimes came out badly made. With a hole, of course. But the question is this: How do you identify a hole, even a small one, in a box? The solution lies in pressurisation: if the pressure drops there is a hole. A matter of Emilian pragmatism. So Giuseppe looks around the packaging industry and tries to apply some techniques. No sooner said than done. Bonfiglioli Engineering was established between May and June 1974 to deal with quality control in packaging. Then in the 90s the entry into the pharmaceutical market. We are in Ferrara, precisely in Vigarano Pieve, a town of just over eight thousand souls ten kilometres from the city centre. There the company grows. It all started from a small warehouse, which then over time expanded to incorporate the one next door and finally, a few years ago, it moved to the new headquarters in Ferrara. Today the company is owned by Americans and, although it speaks the languages of the world, it remains deeply rooted in the community. The founder sold it in 2012 and the change from a family-run company to a multinational with managerial management was completed. Andrea Cavanna has been leading it for nine years as general manager.
Company profile . Ferrara, we were saying. But bear in mind. From here the company actually expands to America, Singapore, India. There are 80 people working here with 90% of production exported outside the national borders for a turnover of around 22 million euros, which has been constantly growing for years. The main market is the pharmaceutical one and everything revolves around the attention towards the customer and innovation. «The needs of our customers are constantly changing. Being close to customers and innovating to support their constantly evolving needs are the mix that make us stand out from others. The vision of the early years has remained fundamentally unchanged, which is to be a partner of customers to guarantee the efficiency and safety of packaging in any application with high quality standards. We have innovated in many aspects, from the type of market to the international presence, up to packaging inspection technologies», says Andrea Cavanna. Today Bonfiglioli Engineering is a world leader in quality control solutions for all packaging requirements. Technology and customer service, that's what matters. The combination of these two factors allows us to provide customers with the solutions needed for their success, which becomes ours. From pharmaceuticals to chemical products and personal care with packaging inspection solutions for many sectors and types of containers.
Being a trusted partner. Quality is central, but here we are not just in the presence of a machine manufacturer, but of a trusted partner for testing and analysing the integrity of packaging through studies of feasibility, technical expertise, validation packages, product handling and customised solutions. «A high customisation: this is the distinctive element – very Italian – of our solutions, which are tailored to the needs of the customers. And this is also the way in which they have changed: the needs of our customers change, and we try to anticipate these changes», says Cavanna. Today the bond with the Ferrara community is very strong. The company collaborates with the university, with professional schools and with third sector entities. «For us it still makes sense to talk about territorial identity to the extent that this constitutes a push towards internationalisation. So local and global are strongly intertwined», concludes Cavanna. Meanwhile, we look to the future. Competition from the East is a reality and at the same time the markets always offer new opportunities to be intertwined with those linked to technological development. For Cavanna the glass is half full, always. «We are fifty years old and we are ready to win the challenges of the next fifty years».
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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