Three centuries of a company ranging from the paintbrushes of 1662 to
the brushes of 1962, always keeping close to clients. The identikit of the
company with its headquarters in Casalecchio di Reno, in the Bologna province.
For FARE Insieme, Giampaolo Colletti interviewed Alessandro Acquaderni,
Marketing Manager and Board Member at SIT
di Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
The story
we are about to unfold challenges statistics as international studies revealed
that only an average of 0.8% of companies survives going from the fourth to the
fifth generation. Yet, in the case of SIT - Società Italiana Tecnospazzole -
such a tiny percentage is proof of how it is possible to work with continuity
by capitalizing on its journey and innovating constantly. The SIT headquarters
are located in Casalecchio di Reno, where we also find the technical office and
part of the production. Around one hundred people work there, contributing to a
turnover of €15.5 million. The leading product is part of the company name, as
SIT produces a range of technical and industrial brushes as well as brushes for
power tools (drills, grinders...). Then there is the iconic multi-purpose SPID
brush, patented in 1966, which has sold over sixty million pieces over the
years. Half of what is produced is special, as it is custom-made, while the
other half is destined to the retail market and ironmongers in particular. In
65% of cases, sales are carried out in Italy, while those abroad range from the
US to Australia. Then there is the production plant in Romania, which employs
25 people and where a part of the standard product range is made.
A century-old history. In 2018,
the company celebrated the 110th anniversary of the company acquired by the
Acquaderni family in 1908. But its story began centuries before, with the
production of paintbrushes for the Bologna painting school, which then changed
to the production of brushes to rebuild Bologna after the War, moving on to
industrial brushes in the 1960s and ‘70s. Three centuries span the paintbrushes
of 1662 to the brushes of 1962, but the key is keeping clients close. Because
there is a need to focus on real necessities, trying to understand their needs.
“SPID brushes are used to scrape, remove paint, clean the barbecue and clean
off ice from skis and ski boots. They were invented by our grandfather Pietro.
Up until the 1960s, only one other type of hand brush existed with a wooden
back. Ours was revolutionary because it introduced an ergonomic product to the
market which has now reached a considerable level of penetration. We sold over
two million pieces last year alone,” reports Alessandro Acquaderni, SIT
Marketing Manager and Board Member.
Ongoing varied innovation. Here, one can breathe innovation continuously. Products have evolved
over time, yet without creating disruption with respect to what has been built
over the years. “This is why we can innovate without breaking with the past,
constant change that can be perceived day after day,” says Acquaderni. For this 33-year-old engineer with a degree
from the University of Bologna and and currently pursuing an executive MBA at
Harvard, innovation is a cultural tract and an essential premise for all
company spheres: from the work of single people to specific processes.
Creativity, of course, but mostly method. “There is a lot of study behind a product, a lot of work by the technical
office, a lot of professionalism and passion,” stresses Acquaderni who, together with brothers Marco and Paolo
and their father Andrea, currently run the company. A few essential traits have
been identified thanks to which the company has reached the fifth generation.
“The first is humility, also referred to our people. We are honest and humble.
All of this is reflected in the products we make and commercialize, which are
not subjected to marketing campaigns or
fads,” explains Acquaderni. This entrepreneurial challenge is achieved thanks
to the attention towards the excellency niche. But, in order to stand out, it
is also necessary to focus on continuous research. “We focus on research every day with small
evolutions of the products or their materials, and we also have an excellent
relationship with the supply chain: if a supplier has an idea for a new wire,
we try it out together. This is our small daily evolution, which involves
clients and partners,” reports Acquaderni. Drop by drop, focusing on a team
that nowadays reaches beyond the company perimeter. After all, this is the only
way to win market challenges. In 2019, SIT initiated an open innovation journey
with the University of Bologna. “We realized that not all clever people
necessarily work for us, but this nearly-obvious consideration that concerns
all businesses has led us to open the doors of our technical office. We are
lucky to have an excellent university hub in Bologna and with Almacube, which
is part of the University of Bologna, we have taken part in Challenge Based
Innovation. In this way, we also collaborated with Cern in Geneva, the leading
innovation hub in the world. For a small business like ours, the thought that
Cern researchers would work on a brush made in Casalecchio was a source of
great pride,” says Acquaderni. Stopping is forbidden - SIT has organised an
open house with multiple youtubers who have set up open workshops for clients
and artisans. Wonder about the future, well beyond market shares and the
confrontation with competitors. “The challenge is getting ready for the change
to come by interpreting this time. Our predecessors managed to understand the
right moment to go from paintbrushes to industrial paintbrushes and to
industrial brushes. We need to listen to clients and the market,” concludes
Acquaderni. This is the ongoing innovation that looks to the future.
