In the land bordering Emilia and Romagna, 50 years ago was born a technological excellence that learned to evolve to meet patients’ needs. Today, Comecer employs over 500 people with a presence in over 100 countries and solutions implemented in hospitals, universities, research centres and pharmaceutical companies. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo Colletti interviews Simone Volpi, Chairman of Comecer.
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri and Francesca Aufiero
“The value of a place is given by the people who live there and by their ability to imagine the future,” says Richard Florida, a Canadian economist, planner and scholar among the most influential in the territorial innovation development field. We can’t argue with that. There are places that exude future and intercept the great global trajectories of innovation. In this case, we find ourselves in Castel Bolognese, a small town located at the crossroads between Ravenna, Imola and Faenza, right in the heart of the Emilia and Romagna industrial territories made up districts, relationships and know-how. This is where Comecer was born and developed, a company that has managed to reinvent itself over time until it has become an international point of reference in the fields of nuclear medicine and pharmaceutical technology. A story that started from mechanics and reached out to patient care. A journey that illustrates what it means to do business today in that border area that is the packaging valley, rooted in the territory and capable of looking far ahead into the future without ever losing its identity.
Company profile. It all began with an industrial intuition, followed by transformation. Comecer was born as a business dealing with the planning and manufacturing of advanced technological systems for the nuclear industry. For years, Comecer has been the supplier to Agenzia Nucleare Italiana, establishing partnerships with ENEA and Ansaldo, and collaborating on many research projects. In 1987, following the decision of the Italian government to block the development of nuclear energy, it opted to shift its business to the medical sector. No more just machines, but solutions. Not more just technology, but impact. “At a certain point, we realised that it was no longer enough to develop advanced technologies. We needed to ask ourselves what we were really needed for, and the answer was simple: to improve people’s lives,” recalls Simone Volpi, Chairman of Comecer. That was the turning point. The company specialised in the nuclear medicine sector, working on isolators and on systems for the safe handling of radiopharmaceuticals in an extremely complex sector where precision, safety and reliability were essential characteristics. But, most of all, in a sector where every technological choice had a direct impact on patients. Castel Bolognese thus became the centre of a production ecosystem that communicated with the world. In this territory, solutions are developed that reach hospitals, research centres and pharmaceutical companies on a global level. It is the actual proof of how excellence is never a geographic question, but rather a cultural one. “We have strong bonds with the territory. This is where we find skills, relations and the ability to work as a team. It is also from here that we start to communicate with international markets,” explains Volpi. To reinvent, changing not only the business model, but also mentality. Going from a product to a system logic. From a technical vision to a wider one that includes the context where the technology is to be used. “We are a global technological company with a strong engineering identity. We were born in 1975 and have developed unique skills over 50 years. We do not just supply machines, we design solutions that need to work in complex environments, comply with strict regulations and guarantee the safety of patients and operators.” The company works in sensitive environments such as radiopharmaceuticals, aseptic isolation and ATMP, i.e. Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products. These are medicines for advanced therapies. It is a very innovative category of drugs that includes gene and cellular therapies or tissue engineering, which rebuilds or regenerates tissue. That is why safety becomes one of the main drivers of innovation. It employs over 500 people with a presence in over 100 countries. What is created is used in hospitals, universities, research centres and pharmaceutical companies. Professionals are both highly skilled and also boast the ability to integrate different disciplines, including engineering, pharmaceutics, regulations and production. A body of knowledge that needs to work harmoniously. “Technology evolves rapidly, but people are what makes the difference. Investing in them means investing in the ability of the company to evolve over time,” stresses Volpi.
From Emilia-Romagna to the world. It currently works with leading companies in the pharmaceutical and health sectors. An expansion built over time, without short-cuts. Each of our solutions has impacted a person. Maybe we don’t see them, but we know that what we do helps improve a course of treatment.” It is a considerable change in perspective, because it transforms the way of working. It introduces an ethical dimension to the industrial process. And it strengthens the sense of responsibility. Looking ahead, the challenge will be to continue innovating while maintaining this balance. Technology and humanity on both a global and local scale, between research and concrete application. “Innovation is never an end on itself, it makes sense only if it improves people’s lives.” Maybe this is the key to the story of Comecer. It is not the tale of a technological business, but that of a company that has chosen to change perspectives. By starting off from an industrial district to reaching out to patients, to turning skills into caring. In this way, innovation is not just progress, it becomes shared responsibility.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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