Recently, we had the opportunity to interview Cristina Sella, whose official role is marketing and communication manager at Essetre – an Italian working center specialist – but she is the representative of the second generation of the family, a legacy handed down with passion. We took the opportunity to recap what has happened in Thiene in the past few years and what we are going to see in the near future.
The company’s future will lay its roots in passion, which is a way of working in the first place, and then a brand to be shared with anyone involved in Essetre. “We are closely intertwined with our territory. We have been guided by strong tradition without “closing up” into our shell or refraining from expanding our horizon, watching the market carefully, capturing the needs of our customers with as open a mind as possible. We are traditionalists, sure, but we have a “license to innovate”, with the possibility and the determination to raise the bar”.
Essetre team during the last Xylexpo edition.
“We have been facing years of decisions, choices, uncertainties, with a rational approach – said Cristina Sella talking about recent years –. In 2020, like everybody else, we suffered from temporary closure and reduced mobility, but I must say that 2021 and 2022 were excellent, we basically doubled our revenues. We aim at replicating these results next year, although we are aware that we might see the end of this “bubble”. Like all manufacturers know, after strong orders and increasing demands, you normally face a “slowdown” period, especially in the domestic market, which has been very important for us in recent years. It will be interesting to see what happens, with Industry 4.0 incentives being progressively reduced in the coming years.
Like we did during the pandemic, when a market shrinks, we will be ready to find new targets, to test new destinations. In 2020 we opened a subsidiary in the United States. A healthy business model that works fine and is giving much satisfaction. We do not improvise, we calculate and ponder our decisions. Approaching a new market requires accurate planning, not improvisation. We will be ready when necessary”.
“It’s been an intensive period – Cristina Sella continued – especially for human relations. As I said, a company is made of people. Each decision was pondered and based on our responsibility for our employees and their families. In the recent years, we have experienced a sequence of external events, independent of our actions, but I really believe we have made the best of each situation”.
What were your biggest investments in recent years?
“Besides the US subsidiary I mentioned before, we expanded our factory to have an additional warehouse for our machines. With this investment, we have solved the difficult situation of material provisioning.
The only trouble, so to say, is the enduring difficulty to provision components and electronic parts. We have expanded our base of suppliers, but this situation should not last much longer and we must find a way to go “back to normal”, also to control the increase of prices. Expanding our stocks and increasing our purchases, we were able to block the price list, now we will see what happens in the near future”.
The future looks bright, as witnessed by the “Best Managed Company Award”…
“Exactly. For the third year in a row, we won the “Best Managed Company Award” promoted by Deloitte. We are really proud, but we must not stop and be happy with this recognition, we cannot believe we have reached the top. This award is just a milestone in our journey, it must encourage us to do better and better, to keep growing, leveraging the good things we have done so far and correcting possible mistakes. It’s a sort of self-analysis based on criteria and parameters for governance, environment, social, vision, internalization. It’s a commitment we have made and will continue to make in the future. As I mentioned, you must never stop, this is a starting point to keep moving”.
We mentioned sustainability, which initiatives have you launched in these years?
“First, I want to say that sustainability for a company is not just about minimizing the environmental impact, however important. Sustainability also means adopting tools and making initiatives to improve the lives of our employees, supporting their training and education, making the most of the expertise we have in house, and working constantly to get better and better…”.
News for the near future?
“New developments will mostly depend on the directions and trends followed by our customers. We have many ideas, but innovation, new machines, new processes clearly depend on market demand. For sure, we will be ready.
Our plans include the creation of a line of “standard” machines, so to say, to optimize our production and shorten the lead time. Furthermore, we have just acquired a new working center for our own operations. We aim at managing all operations, or almost, “in house”, minimizing our reliance on external suppliers. This is a major change for us.
And finally, in 2023 we will complete the construction of a new showroom. It’s a place where we can host our customers and show our machines in action, which is essential for us”.
by Francesco Inverso
essetre.com
WE TALKED ABOUT… “TECHNO FAST”
“Techno Fast” is a NC working center to process beams with maximum dimensions of 620 (height) by 300 mm (width) and length configurable according to customer needs.
BEAM HANDLING SYSTEM
The processing takes place automatically thanks to a motorized loading system, which transports the beam on the loading roller conveyor integrated in the machine structure.
Two multifunctional clamps allow to move and to hold the beam in the working area, while the unloading occurs thanks to a pneumatic ejector onto a series of fixed supports integrated in the machine structure.
WORKING AREA
The processes are performed by a 5-axis head with a dual output motor: one with “HSK 63F” tool connection for the automatic tool change, the other with a flange for the blade with a maximum diameter of 600 mm.
TOOL HOLDER MAGAZINE
The 11-position tool magazine has been installed on one side of the machine portal, in front of the working area, to enable fast and precise tool changes.
