A journey with the giant producer of applications for the quality
control of production processes. This Emilian business numbers 3500 employees
in 25 countries with an expected turnover of around €500 million and 8% of
resources destined to R&D. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo Colletti interviewed
Alessandro Strada, CEO at Marposs
di Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
After
Italy, the first destination was Germany. Then Switzerland, the US, Sweden and
France. In the 1970s, they reached Japan, Brazil, Spain and the UK. In the
1980s, it was the turn of China, Korea, Mexico and Austria. In the 2000s, there
was India, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Czech Republic, Australia and Russia.
If you flip through the history of Marposs - a global leader in supplies to
large car manufacturers and in applications for the aerospace, energy, consumer
electronic and glass container sectors - you truly feel as if you are on a
journey around the world. Because, over the years, the countries mentioned
above have become the branch offices of an idea developed in Emilia in the
1950s. The website shows photos of the headquarters distributed all over the
five continents and those sun-lit buildings are led by young managers and
Marposs people at work, committed to listening to clients and finding
innovative customised solutions. “We provide our clients with the quality
needed to improve production processes,” says Alessandro Strada, CEO at
Marposs. The company produces a wide range of products - from mechanical
components for before, during and after the manufacturing process to process
checks and the conditions of machine tools. In addition, seal tests for all
industrial sectors as well as assembly and automatic control lines. This
hi-tech colossus currently boasts 3500 employees in 25 countries with 80
offices. The overall turnover expected is roughly 500 million with an expected
growth of 20%.
Processes and flexibility. The main
headquarters are in Bentivoglio, a town of almost six thousand people in the
Bologna metropolitan area approximately ten km north of Bologna on that stretch
of plain washed by the Navile canal. There are three facilities, one next to
the other, then other service buildings including the restaurant and the
technological centres. We are talking about almost forty thousand square metres
surrounded by thirty thousand metres of parkland. The production department is
split into two parts: there is the product manufacturing centre where standard
products are made and the application production centre where customised
systems to be integrated into client structures are created. “We employ the
most advanced technologies in order to guarantee high-quality products. Printed
circuit boards are assembled fully automatically with integrated
opto-electronic systems that ensure the outstanding quality combined with a
high-degree of operational flexibility. Tests are performed using mobile probe
scanners, the only ones capable of guaranteeing high availability for boards
featuring complex integrated circuits,” reports Strada. 8% of resources are
invested in R&D, as well as for taking part in international research
programmes. Production rhymes with research and development, as manufacturing
centres work together with the R&D department and the other three
commercial divisions. Automation and flexibility - they may seem opposite
concepts but, together, they represent the path towards excellency. “We have
completed twenty-eight acquisitions over twenty years, we now want to grow in
the electromobility, biomedical and consumer electronics sectors,” stresses
Strada.
Roots and internationalisation. However, in order to understand this company,
we need to go back in time to 1952, when Marposs was born thanks to engineer
Mario Possati. Everything started from a patent for an electronic measurer for
grinding machine tools. Possati had the idea of the first in-process devices for the control of pieces during grinding,
enabling better quality and an increased quantity of pieces produced. Ten years
later, the first foreign branch was opened in Germany. Then, the arrival
overseas in the US. Nowadays, the leading facility is located on the outskirts
of Detroit, the American automobile capital. In the 1970s, it landed in the Far
East with its first branch in Japan. Nowadays, Marposs boasts sales and
assistance facilities in over 25 countries as well as a network of agents and
distributors in another dozen. “This year, we are celebrating our 70th
anniversary, which is an important goal. Over time, our philosophy of process
improvement has remained unchanged. Quality has become fundamental for the
compliance with regulations. But there is also the aspect of innovation. Today,
we no longer check mechanical pieces by touching them physically, we scan them
and learn of any defects thanks to machine self-learning. There are vision and
artificial intelligence techniques for what is now defined smart factory. We
are currently trying to expand on the market by diversifying the sectors. We
are implementing technological changes and dedicate R&D investments in the
transition linked to electric mobility. Our objective? Accompanying clients
towards digital transformation,” says Strada. Connected and sustainable
factories, i.e. smart,, are closer
than you might think.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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