From an artisanal car body workshop to a structured group. In the heart of the Motor Valley, craftsmanship, technology and the culture of detail coexist in a virtuous balance between restoration, innovation and high-tech services. For Zanasi Group, Italian know-how becomes industrial excellence without losing its original soul. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo Colletti interviewed Stefano Levoni Bemposti and Michele Aporti, CEO and General Manager of Zanasi Group respectively.
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri and Francesca Aufiero
What we are about to tell you is a story that smells of workshop, varnish and passion. It is profoundly Emilian, born where the roaring of the engines becomes industrial culture and where craftsmanship meets innovation without ever losing its soul, The journey of Zanasi Group - a company that started small and became big - started in Maranello, in the heart of the Motor Valley. Just think that, today, it represents one of the most authentic expressions of Italian know-how applied to the world of luxury cars.
Company profile . The story started in the early 1960s, when everything began in an artisanal car body workshop covering just 180 square metres - a double garage turned into a workshop. Basic, yet one filled with vision. Umberto Zanasi, the co-founder, started his business when he was very young after training at Ferrari, in a unique territory where businesses and legend go hand in hand. His meeting with Enzo Ferrari in 1964 represented a historic milestone, as it was the birth of a relationship of mutual trust based on swiftness, precision and quality repair work - values that became a trademark of the company over time. That artisanal workshop was the start of a journey of consistent growth that was never an improvisation. Today, Zanasi Group is a structured company with 15 branches, stakes in other companies and over 450 employees in an area of only a few km between Maranello, Formigine, Modena, Fiorano and Castelnuovo Rangone. The growth did not revoke the link with its origins, but rather strengthened it maintaining a familial soul and a deeply-shared work culture. “The artisanal spirit is still rooted within the company. The people who contributed to establishing Zanasi are still with us and participate actively in the everyday life of the company. This direct connection with our origins enables us to keep alive our passion, our attention to detail and our approach made up of skill and dedication, elements which have characterised the Zanasi car body workshop right from the start,” stresses Stefano Levoni Bemposti, CEO of Zanasi Group as he illustrates a generational continuity that is not only symbolic, yet operative.
Hands, head, heart. This is where the distinctive feature of Emilian companies emerges - growing without losing their nature. From a car body workshop to a structured group, from artisanal work on iconic cars to integrated services that range from the restoration of vintage cars to high-tech solutions for contemporary models, down to 3D printing, driving simulators and new dedicated divisions. Innovation is not just a fad, but rather strategy guidance. “It represents an element that is deeply-rooted in our reality and a compass for future choices,” with the objective of offering a complete integrated service managed internally to guarantee control over the processes and high-quality6 results. Zanasi Group operates within a sector where the combination between craftsmanship and technology is pivotal: work is done on actual four-wheeled works of art where craft, aesthetic sensitivity and precision coexist with advanced software, evolved diagnostics and automated processes such as the automated painting systems. But the actual challenge is not only a technical one, it is cultural. Passing on skills that risk being lost, attracting young talent, building training periods between generations. “In our sector, it is essential to maintain a virtuous balance between artisanal skill and technology. Artisanal know-how is a precious heritage that needs to be passed on with care. That is why we believe it essential to attract young talent and accompany them on structured training programmes,” reports Michele Aporti, sales manager at Zanasi Group.
Tradition and innovation . In addition to the classic cars that require experience, skill and historic knowledge, we have the modern models that are increasingly complex, featuring advanced software and devices. To tackle this new evolution, the company has also created an internal body dedicated to technology and an R&D tram made up of professionals who keep up with innovative solutions even outside of the automotive sector in order to apply them to their processes. But Zanasi means most of all community. The founding families are still there, the relationship between colleagues has remained close from the onset and the attention to company welfare and shared growth represents an organisational pillar. The future is clear and resides in one word - sustainability. Not just when it comes to the environment, but also economic and social sustainability as a guiding principle. Because, after all, true continuity does not mean remaining the same, bur rather evolving while maintaining original values intact. Even in a high-tech era such as this one , the future stems from the hands, work culture and vision that crosses the generations
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