It all started in 1965 from
an intuition that led to success in the following decades. Then with 2008 the
crisis of the system and the need to rethink quickly. Today the Spilamberto
company has 9,000 machines installed in over 70 countries around the world, three
branch offices and a total turnover of around 40 million euros. Technological
innovation is the beating heart with 7% of turnover. Giampaolo Colletti
interviews Gianluca Rossi, Sales & Marketing Manager at Sitma Machinery for
FARE INSIEME
of Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
This is a story to be "unwrapped".
And I bet that each of us has unwrapped a parcel at least once in our life. Because
that way of packaging Italian and international newspapers and magazines for
decades was born in the Emilia region and is behind the success of Sitma
Machinery, a manufacturer of packaging machines, which is engaged today in 60% of
the packaging of online commerce. But this is a story to be unwrapped in order
to understand a crucial lesson in making business: listening to the market is
essential. So to better understand the development of this extraordinary
reality with an Emilian heart, founded as far back as 1965, we need to use
another word that describes only those companies that know how to look to the
future. And it is courage. Because
behind the company's success there is the courage
to bet on an intuition that proved to be successful, but also the courage to change the business over time
and to intercept two phenomena that are closely connected today: integrated
logistics and environmental sustainability.
The
before and after. Since its foundation, Sitma Machinery
specialised in the design and construction of packaging machines. The company
started with the packaging and graphic arts sector with the handling of
newspapers, periodicals, books, envelopes. And then over time it focused on
logistics, providing systems for the sorting of parcels in the postal sector
and systems for the automatic packaging of products ordered and distributed
through e-commerce. Thus, the company became a leader in e-logistics, even
winning an order for the postal service in France. But what is important to
understand is thebefore and theafter. With 2008 as a watershed. «Due to the international financial crisis that year we
recorded a decline in business in traditionally strategic areas, such as the
distribution of newspapers and magazines. The economic context began to
radically transform itself, so we were faced with a scenery that had completely
changed; hence, we decided that the time had come for a deep analysis, converting
ourselves towards the development of products related to e-commerce. The
new world we were plunging ourselves into was written with different rules. A fast and flexible world. That was turning towards paper.
So while the market was rapidly changing, we went hand in hand», says Gianluca Rossi, Sales & Marketing Director at
Sitma Machinery. To change, to reinvent oneself. And to succeed. From the
problem to the opportunity: in the company we clearly addressed our limits and
decided to change in order to evolve and be the best again. A new phase thus
began, which started with a winning premise: the enhancement of the network of
historical customers among printers, publishers and postal institutes around
the world. These are the resources to bet on to start growing and expanding
into a new market. «At the time, the field
of logistics for e-commerce was a new sector, in strong evolution and rapid
development, with many emerging opportunities to be seized. We decided to
follow that path, by automating machines, systems and lines for the packaging
and distribution in an innovative and sustainable way», Rossi recalls. Today for Sitma, paper is truly
the material of the future and in packaging the company is experiencing a new
youth. Paper is used to advertise a product, customise a package and the demand
is increasing exponentially.
From Modena to the whole
world. But let's take a step back in time. Because the
second life would not exist without the first. For Sitma everything started in
Spilamberto, a town of just under thirteen thousand souls, south of Modena. The intuition comes
from Aris Ballestrazzi, a visionary entrepreneur who died at the age of 81, in
that tragic March 2020 that was decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic. «But it was
his vision that gave the impetus to make this company managerial», says Rossi. Today
the company is specialised in the design and
construction of machines, systems and complete lines for the sectors of
packaging, post-press and logistics. And it has over 9,000 machines installed
in over 70 countries around the world. Today it has three branch offices in
France, the United States and Japan and a widespread sales network. What's more:
exports exceed 80% for a total turnover of around 40 million euros with 150 employees.
Technological innovation is the beating heart with 7% of turnover. The hub
where the R&D department operates, which is located in a special octagonal
office at the centre of the headquarters, is the place where new materials are
studied and increasingly advanced machines and systems are developed. But what
makes the difference is working with university departments to develop new
technologies and to engineer modular and flexible solutions. Technology, human
capital, vision, scalability. Looking to the future with that courage that has always represented the
company's DNA. This is how the new figure of theSustainability Manager takes shape: he/she develops innovative
technologies for waste reduction, optimises the consumption to ensure cost
savings, uses green energy and builds a strategic network of partners to track
and reduce the carbon footprint in the productive processes. In addition to
courage, the future is built with the awareness of thinking about the new
generations who will inhabit this fragile world.
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