From a former pattern-making shop established in the 1950s to a technological gem that is now a leader in the processing of carbon fibre materials. In Modena there is C.P.C. Group, specialised in futuristic technologies and working for Ferrari, BMW, Lamborghini, Tesla. Today it has 830 employees, 4 plants, a production capacity of 150,000 finished pieces per year and is a leader in the lamination of carbon fibre reinforced polymer parts.
Giampaolo Colletti interviewes Franco Iorio, CEO of C.P.C. Group, for FARE Insieme
di Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
In Emilia there are companies that have chosen to live the
future, gambling on the know-how of their people, innovative and immersive
technologies and on visions of the world that have turned out to be successful.
C.P.C. Group is one of these companies. Solid roots in Modena and an ability to
look ahead. Far ahead. A completely Emilian approach to internationalisation. «This is our soul. Over the years
we have developed excellent technical skills that now allow us to make
components for the automotive sector. We are specialised in futuristic
technologies, carbon fibre components that replace metal parts: in this way
there is no need for classical welding and the vehicle is lighter, making room
for the new more sustainable and high performing batteries», says Franco Iorio, CEO of
C.P.C. Group, company he took over the 1990s with three other partners and in
which Mitsubishi has had a 44% shareholding since 2017. His is a journey from
pattern-maker with a diploma from the Fermo Corni School in Modena to leader of
this gem in Modena. The company develops
the cylinder heads of Ferrari's Formula 1 engine and the prototypes of the
Ferrari road vehicles, the mechanical models for Lamborghini Aventador engine
casting, pieces of the new Maserati Mc20 electric car and the carbon wings of
Tesla’s Model S, with a production of 18,000 pieces a year, while it is the
sole supplier for BMW’s M3. «We work with the top, but our
market is not limited to an elite group of consumers. We are developing
hypertech ideas in sectors that will dominate in the future for a wide group of
people who not necessarily need or want to buy a supercar. Indeed, the future
will be increasingly democratic in terms of access and electric cars, unheard
of just a few years ago, will become increasingly within our grasp. I’m
thinking of self-driving cars that can be used from a simple app on our
smartphone. For example, we are doing all this for
the American market», says Iorio.
From past to future.
Basically this is the story of a
never-ending race, like the cars that create excitement with their roaring
engines on the track. The company was founded in Modena in 1959. At the time,
the area as a whole represented what was known as the 'economic miracle'. «In the United States there were
the start-ups, here, instead, craftsmen continued to experiment tirelessly. And
C.P.C. was established by three founding partners. Start-ups were invented in
Italy or, more precisely, here in Emilia and not by the Americans. Until the
1990s we had very few employees and today you can say we have had a dramatic
increase. By 2025 we forecast that the company will have up to two thousand
people», says Iorio. And to think that everything was born
from the small craft workshop in which patterns for foundries were created by
the expert hands of the pattern-maker who shaved and worked the wood to sculpt
it into a single piece. Then the radical transformation that saw the younger
partners take over the top positions in the company. Today the company has 830
employees, 4 plants, a production capacity of 150,000 finished pieces per year
and is a leader in the galvanized coating of rapid prototyping products and in the lamination of carbon fibre
components with co-laminated metal parts. And it is research and
development that expresses the idea of future: 3 million euros invested every
year and dozens of young graduates who join the various departments of the
company. «A training gymnasium. In our
company we need a lot of professionals: we start with the planning and go on to
the implementation. Then, there is the moulding of the
laminated components and mechanical processing, painting at two plants and then
final assembly of the vehicle», says Iorio. Working from A to Z. From 3D geometry
we are able to supply the finished, painted item ready for assembly on the
vehicle. Behind this type of project is a vision that is ahead of its time,
linked to energy saving and which passes through the valorisation of the
electric energy source, making it possible to streamline urban traffic and
reduce pollution in cities. «These hi-tech products bring
people back to the centre in the realities they live in. But we’re not talking
about a distant future. Commercialisation is forecast for 2024 with a production
of 15,000 vehicles a year. And then, when everything is
up and running, we will need between 1,000 and 2,000 more people», says Iorio.
People-first.
Being prepared for the future,
but starting from people who have to think, construct, assemble, prototype,
produce that future. A future that originates in the futuristic laboratories of
Emilia but which has its roots in the heads of the experts engaged in this
project. «Let me say this again: by
definition, the company is only human capital. The rest is only the
technological choices on what to offer the market», says Di Iorio. This is the motor valley that churns out innovations
and talents. The human capital represented by the professionals of tomorrow is
the trump card in overcoming the challenges of a changing world: a model that
involves new hires from the Department of Industrial Engineering at the
University of Parma. The company is a leader in the processing of compounds and
in precision mechanics. The entire production process is developed internally
and there is even a robotised 3D workstation for the finishing of pre-moulded
material. Technology but also tailoring to work on the niche market of limited
edition products: that is what the work that links craftsmanship and attention
to detail is all about. «We have set ourselves the aim of
being top of the range with everything we have around us. Excellence is not an
optional but an integral part of the path towards innovation. We work on
precision finishes, incredible details of aesthetic and functional elements», says Di Iorio. Work is also
being carried out on the new plant, with car parks equipped with charging
stations, a gym, a canteen, an open space engineering area, internal gardens
and classrooms for assembly and lamination training courses.
The strength of co-creation.
Co-creation means
making large-scale carbon fibre compression moulded light and ultra-light
structures, combined with trailblazing composite material processing techniques
to work the mechanical parts with simulation studies that range from
castability analysis to the prediction of the mechanical characterisation of
the component. A specialisation that ties in with advanced personalisation. «This is where the close link with the client is born: working alongside
the customer on the evolution of the project, a co-design to complete the
project. The only winning card is the one we play along with the customer as a
partner. We work with the hands of the clock some years ahead. When the
customer comes to us with a request, we have already studied and developed the
solution to the problem and we are often the one to suggest what is needed,
even before it is requested», says Iorio. Sustainability enters our
work also with the carbon fibre bicycle. But in the future there is also the
supply of the blades for the Wisk self-flying air taxi, a joint venture that is
working on the Rivian electric vans. The future runs fast, but it is already
among us.
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