A long story but still many chapters to write. The story of Saomad dates back to a long time ago, in a different Italy, less digital, but maybe truer, more practical, more real and less “virtual”. Those were the years of the economic boom, when the country was being reconstructed, the years when ideas turned into new initiatives, new companies, new horizons, and rich districts were created (or re-created), stemming from tradition.
Saomad’s story began in an area that, over the years, has grown into a reference industrial district, not only for the woodworking industry, and a hotbed of ideas.
To tell what Saomad was and what it is today, a company based in Padua and specializing in technology for the production of wooden windows, we interviewed owner Dario Camporese, a member of the second generation of the family that has guided this company until its 65th anniversary in 2023.
Dario Camporese
“Our story began in 1958 – he said – when my father decided to open this company. Looking back, everything was totally different. We built more conventional machines, so to say, for simpler operations, and we were mainly focused on the Italian market.
Then the situation changed, customer requests increased, our market expanded. We added new machines, we started to specialize in the production of machines for windows, from manual tenoners to early profiling machines.
We have come so far because of our constant drive to innovate, to find new solutions, to bet on technology. This choice and this attitude have led us to develop angular machines, starting with smaller models and now offering complete lines that can operate with high speed and quality”.
During your long story, you also had to face a really “peculiar” three-year period…
“Exactly. In the past three years, things have really changed. There have been many problems, from the pandemic with its consequences, to the complex geopolitical situation that has caused serious troubles in terms of material provisioning and cost increase. This situation has involved all companies. How did we react? We rolled back our sleeves, we tried to further improve the planning of production and deliveries, trying to have a clear vision so that we could “anticipate” our schedule by several months, ordering materials in advance. And I can say that, despite some inevitable delays, we managed to do an excellent job”.
Where is the industry heading?
“I think that the woodworking industry (and not only) is going into the direction of increasing automation. The industry is requesting solutions to reduce the need of labor, lines that can operate 16 hours a day unattended, reducing the risks of a strenuous work and tackling with the big issue of our industry: finding qualified staff.
This need – Dario Camporese continued – is dictating the course of development and changing the trends. Customer requests are changing accordingly, focusing on complete lines that can machine products and deliver a finished piece with as few steps as possible, also avoiding off-line operations. Especially in recent years, this request has been shared by everyone, with the goal of reducing labor as well as downtime”.
Flexibility, automation and… sustainability?
“For sure, the topic of sustainability will be one of the keywords that will remain with us in the future. The year that has just ended has shown that energy saving and waste reduction are two objectives that cannot be overlooked. At Saomad (he smiled, editor’s note), we have always paid attention to these topics, and our current portfolio of machines offers approximately 40 percent energy saving compared to previous solutions. So, we were not caught unprepared…”.
Are there further margins for improvement?
“Definitely. We made an excellent job, but I am sure you can always do better. As I said, cost reduction is a factor that affects everyone, from an environmental as well as economic standpoint. I will not deny that the attention of our customers on the consumption of each machine has increased, but that’s obvious. While until few years ago energy costs were significant, but their impact was limited, now they have become a big item in the balance sheet. Obviously, this is driving companies to invest in the research of solutions with increasing performance and lower energy consumption”.
We mentioned the innovation topic. What’s brewing at Saomad? What news are you presenting in the near future?
“We have just finalized and we are ready to launch “Woodpecker Performance”, a numerical control working center for windows that can handle “just in time” operations. The name itself highlights the key feature of the machine: performance, high processing quality for a machine that can achieve high efficiency even under severe stress and with intensive operations. To give you some figures, this machine will be able to process one piece every 45 seconds, handling up to ten pieces simultaneously, while minimizing the need of operators. We really believe that this new solution will be highly appreciated on the market.
We are sure about this, because the most functional and effective innovations are those that respond to customer and market demands”.
Turning back and looking ahead, what would you say to yourself and those who worked with you for all these years?
“Sixty-five years in business is a major milestone, an achievement that not every company in Italy can reach. After all this time, we looked back and we realized how far we have gone since my father started this big adventure in 1958. A long way, great commitment, sacrifice, passion for what we have done and still do today. What can we say after 65 years? That we have been good. That we were willing to do, and if we have reached these results, we must congratulate ourselves. But I want to say that this is not a final destination, it’s just a stage of our journey”.
by Francesco Inverso
“WOODPECKER PERFORMANCE”
“Woodpecker performance” is a numerical control machining center for the production of all kinds of wooden doors and windows. The distinctive feature of this solution, as the name itself suggests, is high performance. According to Saomad, this machine can process up to ten workpieces simultaneously, delivering a finished part in 45 seconds.
“Woodpecker performance” can machine pieces from 15 to 160 millimeter thick, 50 to 240 millimeter wide and 260 to 6,000 millimeter high.
“Compared to the “Woodpecker family – Dario Camporese explained – we have expanded the loading and unloading system and the tool magazine, which can now hold up to 750 tools. The “Performance” model has three distinctive features: the loading buffers, the tools magazine and the capacity to machine multiple parts simultaneously, dramatically cutting the production time”.
