From a small mechanical workshop established in the 1980s to an
international company in the production of tanks and fuel storage, transport
and distribution of fuel, other than the control and management systems of
supplies. Giampaolo Colletti interviews Gian Lauro Morselli, president of
Emiliana Serbatoi for FARE Insieme
di Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
If there is a clue to identify the
companies of excellence, i.e. the ones that make up the winning mosaic of the
Italian productive fabric, it is in the ability to know how to read the weak
and gradually stronger signals of the market before others. That is, to
understand the revolutions, which at the beginning must be identified by small
evolutions. It is not just a matter of genius and luck, but also of listening
capacity and of researching the risks and opportunities. After all, this is the
story of Emiliana Serbatoi, a Modenese company engaged in the production of
tanks and systems for the storage, transport and distribution of fuel, as well
as for the control and management systems of supplies. A leading company at an
international level, which started out in 1985 as a small mechanical workshop
in the outskirts of Modena. «Strengthened also by my father Giancarlo's
previous experience, we were specialised in the sector of gravity tanks, but it
was clear that the regulations would soon change and that the procedures and
methods related to fuels would be more strictly regulated», says Gian Lauro
Morselli, head of the family business created in 1983 with his father, who at
the time was a carpenter. «My father Giancarlo used to weld and assemble, while
I helped out, painting the tanks, for example; but above all, thanks to the
commercial spirit that distinguishes me, I travelled all over Italy by car to
offer and make our products known», recalls Morselli, who then became an
entrepreneur at the age of twenty-one with a lot of apprenticeship behind him.
In a short time, things would change for real: with the decree law of 1990,
legislation came into force in Italy that made the storage of fuels more
strict. Final goal: to avoid environmental damage and therefore to guarantee
safety for all types of tanks. But at
that point the company was already organised to meet the new standards
nationally and internationally.
Company
with a global reach. «With the Italian market,
which was soon saturated, we made a bet on exports, especially in Europe, but
also landing in various regions, such as the United States, Scandinavia and the
United Arab Emirates. We started making tanks of different materials, in
plastic and in steel, and of any size to diversify production», Morselli
specifies. A global company, but with a strong local spirit of identity. Thus,
the roots are truly anchored to the Modena area, but with that ambition to look
beyond. It is no coincidence that the Campogalliano headquarters, a few metres
from the exit of the first A22 motorway tollbooth, is a gateway to Europe and,
after all, a permanent fair for Emiliana Serbatoi who moved to this location in
2001, which has recently been expanded. Twenty years later, in 2021, the
turnover exceeded 32 million euros, breaking the 2020 turnover of almost six
million euros. The company has one hundred employees. And then there is another
headquarters in San Donà di Piave, a town of forty thousand inhabitants in the
metropolitan area of Venice. We have been operating here since 2013 with part
of the production, the one dedicated to the "raw" construction of the
steel tanks, which are then "finished", with the installation of
pumping units, for example, in the main headquarters located in the Modena
area.
The business volumes generated on the
Italian market reach 56% of the total, the rest of the turnover is developed on
international markets: 75% of the sales that are made abroad are concentrated
in Europe. «Our main customer, from the very beginning and for the first
fifteen years, was the classic retailer of petroleum products. So we started
with underground tanks, but we suddenly changed the market by also focusing on the
supply of operational vehicles, therefore with both storage and transportable
tanks. We tried to study these systems, rethinking about safe refuelling with
tanks that are technologically advanced and safe, and above all that are
anti-pollution. Even in this very difficult historical phase, marked by a
sky-rocketing raw energy material, we maintain our solidity. We have broad
shoulders thanks to the innovation choices we have made in the past years»,
says Morselli.
The opportunity of the circular economy. The ability to anticipate the times, to grasp
the signs of change that the regulations reverberate on the market, returns as
an obsession. Today at stake is everything related to the circular economy and
the necessary green revolution to which the transport market is subjected. An epochal change. «We
anticipated this circular economy, focusing on sustainable materials and
processes. We addressed the environmental issue by renewing the tank from
scratch. What I am referring to is the green polyethylene, adopted already in
2007 and whose use passed for us from zero to 40%», Morselli specifies. To
welcome what is new that is introduced and that marks a change in the way of
working. In Emiliana Serbatoi they know it well, where there is maximum respect
for regulations. Then there is the digital factor. Hence, the various offices
are activated to rethink the work platforms, and the technical one remains a
flagship. But bear in mind: it is not an end in itself research, but connected
to the commercial part and to the needs of the customers. This too is the key
to challenge international markets, the strong foreign competition, and to win.
A computerised and integrated work. On the other hand, the storage of liquids,
in particular of petroleum and food products, involves safety, quality,
control. Innovative plants and human capital. «But contrary to what I feel,
i.e. to see technological change in an exclusive way, I think the future lies
in the mix and interchange between the car and the person who switches it on and
drives it», concludes Morselli. Once again, it's the people who make the
difference.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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