TPT November 2012

Industry News

Andrea Farinet, professor of economics of LIUC University, interviews Matteo Guglielmone

optimise the production and the quality of their products, too. On the same time the demands of some of our customers, leading in the stainless steel pipes market, asked us to study their market to give them the best product for satisfying their production needs. In 2000 SOMO realised, for example, a 2,000-ton press for an Australian stainless steel tube company; we made a 7m plant for an Italian company; and we are now producing a 9,000t plant for a Chinese company. The business agreement with SOMO increased our customers’ production and reduced their costs. Not only because we were able to offer our plants being competitive in the international market but even for the reason that our core business is to understand our customers’ needs, helping them from the beginning of their investments, suggesting them even the better economical strategy and look after them even after we sold the plants: to always be there when they need. I can say for all these elements SOMO has been so successful to be perceived as a leader in this market niche. According to your entrepreneurial experience at the international level, which could be the possible competitive economic scenarios in the future? China, India and Brazil are considered the new emerging countries that in the

Which are the general aspects that permit SOMO to succeed in the international market, especially in this economical crisis? Since 1960 SOMO has always produced customised presses and shears machines supplying the international market. In 2000, when we understood that the market was dominated by our competitors, which were more economically competitive because of their big series production, we faced that we had to look for new business opportunities. The chance presented itself when the manufacturers of stainless steel pipes, which had modest and variable production batches for diameter and length, gave us the opportunity to use our bending know- how and our engineering knowledge to offer them what they were looking for. In particular we have included special bending tools to avoid losing time for the tools change that usually lead to a down time of the plant. We have inserted a system of extraction and lifting of the tube in order to send it automatically to the subsequent steps of tack welding. We focused our attention on the feeding system and manipulation for handling the metal sheet during forming, using the electronics for controlling the quality of the finished tube by measuring the width of the sheet to be bent and during the bending. Everything is managed by a PLC entirely designed by SOMO, which allows the production of pipes, one different from the other, in sequence with a very fast set up of the machine. According to your long experience in this business, how did you get such positive results in so aggressive an international market? Our competitors, international holding groups, producers of machines for realising pipes of large dimensions, have focused their business on the pipeline industry and on a production which has been characterised by big batches and standard production. SOMO’s strategy has been the one to start supplying worldwide companies which produced of small quantity of product that had the requirement to

The SOMO tube plant

future could start making these kinds of investments even if they do not have the complete technology to produce the stainless steel pipes. On the other side, in Europe there are companies that still have old production processes and they could decide to change their strategy to beat the international competition, for example, the ones who are producing lower cost pipes with our machines. So that in the future these companies could make new investments for being competitive in the international market. SOMO Produzione SpA – Italy Fax: +39 02 93561457 Email: info@somoproduzione.com Website: www.somoproduzione.com Andrea Farinet Srl – Italy Email: a.farinet@andreafarinet.it Website: www.andreafarinet.eu

Management change PATRICK E Connell has been appointed president at Kocks Pittsburgh Co, an affiliate company in the USA of Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co KG in Hilden, Germany. The independent, medium-size, family-owned company has been successful in mill construction worldwide for more than 60 years. Mr Connell joined Kocks Pittsburgh Co in July of 2005 and served in the capacity of vice-president sales until recently. He succeeds in the new position Mr Sergio A Filippini who has been appointed managing director sales and marketing for Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co KG in Hilden, Germany.

Friedrich Kocks GmbH & Co KG – Germany Fax: +49 2103 54 028 Email: v.d.heiden@kocks.de Website: www.kocks.de

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N ovember 2012