In Cavezzo, a town of seven thousand souls north
of Modena, a company specialised in precision mechanics was born, which over
time was able to reinvent itself by also aiming at the maritime sector. So from
mechanics it embraced the yachting industry. Giampaolo Colletti interviews Luca
Draghetti, CEO of Mekanica Draghetti, for FARE INSIEME
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
This is the story of a family
passion. Because it sees father and son in the field at work, bonded by the
wish to do things well. But it is also the story of how you need to have flair
to start a business. What am I referring to? Just think of a reality far from
the sea that starts to create products for the sea. And to make them excellent.
In short, as sailors would say, to do all this you have to understand which way
the wind is blowing, to smell it, even anticipate it. On the other hand, only
those who try to decode reality - once again, even predict it - will be able to
inhabit this complex world. So we must act and quickly. Soon you will
understand what I'm referring to, but in the meantime I'll tell you where we
are. Because – we have said many times on our journey – people shape the places
where they live and where they work, but also vice versa. Ultimately, we are
attracted like magnets to places, which affect what we do and who we are. So
welcome to Cavezzo, a town of just over seven thousand souls north of Modena. A
town, despite itself, also known throughout the world for that terrible
earthquake that shattered that portion of Emilia that surrounds it, bringing
death and destruction, but also bringing out that temper made of resilience,
self-sacrifice and limitless passion. Here, right here in Cavezzo, Mekanica
Draghetti was born, the ideal partner in the high precision mechanical
processing sector. Here mechanical groups and components of all sizes are
produced and developed, precision work is carried out, jobs are delivered
quickly and the quality is always certified. It all starts by working on
components for different sectors: automotive, hydraulic, biomedical, defence
and then industrial machinery and subsequently shipbuilding. A typical path of
the best Emilian realities, within that land of motors where Modena and Bologna
are today more than ever capitals of technology and performance. Family passion, we said before. Because
the company, founded way back in 1974, was then further rethought thanks to the
alliance between Luca Draghetti (51 years old) and his father Gianni (71 years
old), the latter having been involved in managing the business for fifty years.
«I wanted to create my own thing and I decided to start a partnership with dad.
Working together is always interesting: we compare and evaluate new visions
together», recalls Luca Draghetti, now CEO of the company.
From mechanics to the yachting industry. The company has
twenty employees and operates in the Italian and foreign markets. «Being a
small company with a small number of employees allows us to enhance the human
relationship, starting from a very bonded team: all this, together with the use
of increasingly advanced technologies and refresher courses, allows us to keep
up with the changes of the market and to continually improve ourselves»,
specifies Draghetti. It all started fifty years ago. At the time the main area
was precision mechanical machining for third parties. But then the important
step came in 2007: the entry into the yachting industry and therefore the
beginning of a new challenge, which is currently growing with the development
of new products. And here is the second
element of this story, namely the ability to jump with awareness and courage
from mechanics to yachting. «When we felt the 2007/2008 crisis in the air, we
decided to enter this new nautical sector. Thus, a specific brand was born for
the maritime division. We thought about starting to hold trade fairs to grow
the nautical sector and strengthen the mechanical sector, which had already
been consolidated over time. In short, we listened to the trends of the market.
Even though here in Emilia we don't have the sea, we started creating products
for the sea», says Draghetti proudly. An idea that proved to be successful: «In
addition to trim stabilizers for yachts, we invested in spare parts for
outboard engines for important brands; in four years in the company we went
from one code to managing more than 80 in the spare parts sector, creating an
important commercial network», continues Draghetti. Never stop, always reinvent
yourself again. «It was a big gamble to embrace boating, which is now going
strong. Today we also produce spare parts for outboard engines. We started
creating trim stabilizers for yachts. We developed these first prototypes by
truly listening to the customer», concludes Draghetti. These are the good
entrepreneurs. Like good sailors they navigate the seas of the world, avoiding
possible storms and endlessly surfing unthinkable routes.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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