In Cento, in the Ferrara area, there is a world leader in technologies related to combustion: burners and
boilers distributed in China, The United States and the Middle East are created
here. But the research bet is on renewable energy and hydrogen. The history of
Baltur SpA, the company born from start-upper entrepreneurs. Giampaolo Colletti
interviews Riccardo Fava, CEO and General Manager
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
There are
business stories that are linked hand in glove to the uncertain and fragile
time we are presently experiencing. Especially because in this phase, marked by
the double health and environmental emergency, the best way is to find
solutions that can safeguard ourselves and the planet. Easier said than done.
Yet, a market that tries to rethink itself continuously is working on all this.
«We are evolving more and more towards those renewable
energies that combine environment and domestic comfort. For burners and boilers
the electronic component will always be
central, but research is taking important steps and now the RRP (Recovery and
Resilience Plan) with its resources is pushing towards a further
transformation.» Riccardo Fava, CEO and
General Manager of Baltur S.p.A. is convinced of this. This
entrepreneur, who was born in 1963 and with a degree cum laude in economics and
commerce from the University of Bologna in his pocket, has been leading the leading company in combustion technologies since 1999:
the company's portfolio boasts a wide range of burners with very high modulation ratios and very low emission of pollutants as
well as products for home comfort (boilers, heat pumps, air conditioners).
A story in the name of innovation. On the other hand, “research
is the lifeblood and for us who produce products with a high level of
specialisation, innovation is everything”: firmly states the president Enrico
Fava. Today the company pursues that vision, which is to consciously manage
energy. Which means designing, producing and proposing bright solutions for
heating, air conditioning, the use of energy in a rational and effective way,
by respecting man and nature. Of course, it does so with another awareness and
a level of hi-tech solutions that were unthinkable until recently, but the
spirit remains the same of when it all started.
Entrepreneurs and start-uppers
So
let's talk about the beginnings. Because this is a typical Emilian story made
of experimentation, study, stubbornness and determination. A story even of
friendship. It all started in 1950 by two friends from Cento who became
business partners, Giuseppe Ballanti and Ferdinando Tura. Hence the name
Baltur, an acronym of their surnames. Two young Archimedes because they managed
to identify innovative technical solutions in the heating sector in an era of
full development in Italy that was recovering from the immediate post-war
period. In fact, they favoured the transition from coal to naphtha, which was
considered a more practical fuel, by building small fuel oil burners from
scratch. Today perhaps we would have called them start-uppers because thanks to
that initiative they contributed to the success of the burner in Italy. But in
1961 it was Augusto Fava who marked the transition from an artisanal company to
an industrial reality. The two partners had known him ever since he started
revolutionary ideas in the sector of plant engineering for pasta factories.
Another great start-upper, we can say. A progressive technological and economic
growth began for Baltur with the Fava family. From the oil burners in the
mid-60s to diesel oil burners, then to gas burners in the 70s and, moreover, in
the 80s the entry into the market of wall-mounted boilers.
Contemporary and hi-tech
districts
Today
Baltur is present in 60 countries and has recently made large investments in
the new R&D laboratory and in modern production lines for burners. The
headquarters is proudly Emilian. We are in Cento, in the Ferrara area, on an
area of over thirty thousand square metres. «People are
our true heritage. We are a family business: the property is here, in the area,
it has been established in the company, in total symbiosis with the company for
sixty years and has a direct relationship with all its employees. We have a
productive fabric and a specialised industry made up of many SMEs that have
supply relationships and that are a wealth for the company and the territory.
These conditions are not easily found elsewhere. A contemporary district to be
safeguarded and to grow with all that it implies: it is a question of
modernising the plants, feeding the fabric of relationships with stakeholders
and then also going beyond», explains Fava. Also in this case the winning
recipe is to be close and to look far. «Being
a medium-sized company, we have always bet on foreign partnerships: you create
them by identifying subjects with whom you consolidate relationships over time
and with whom you decide to follow the same path together. Growing up by
acquiring realities on site is challenging and is practised by large industrial
groups. For us, the main way is linked to foreign partnerships: we avoid taking
the longest step, but we consolidate ourselves thanks to specific commercial
agreements. We do this in particular in the most important markets because we
export burners to China, Russia, Turkey. And then there is Europe, South
America and the Middle East.»
Roll up your sleeves
The
pandemic was scary, but in this territory we are used to starting from square
number 1. You roll up your sleeves, plunge in head first and start from
scratch, even if the scars have a hard time healing. «This is also was happened with the 2012 earthquake. It hit hard
and in some cases dramatically between collapses and deaths. Fortunately, our buildings
did not suffer much damage. But we rebuilt our facilities in a safer way and
worked hard on teamwork.»
Our team,
made up of men and women, has always made a difference. In Cento there are 154
people working in the company. «I
have always thought of safeguarding people and the working environment. Today
the company is air-conditioned and perfectly equipped. There are many
agreements with local operators in favour of employees. Do you know which is
the greatest satisfaction? To create the conditions to move forwards together
and as a continuation. Today we must aim to protect the technological contents
and the contact with the customer. We must follow new paths. Our products use
fossil fuels and are impactful in a world that is striving to find
sustainability and transition. Now the goal is to work on emissions and
consumption, likewise the automotive sector. Then there are the renewable
resources that will constitute the building blocks of the future, such as heat
pumps or solar panels. Hydrogen will also play an important role», says Fava.
To do this, cutting-edge laboratories and advanced equipment are not enough.
Human capital is needed. That is what makes the difference.
