Good news for the local economy, and signs of a bounce-back for the brick and roof tile manufacturing industry which promises to offer new, innovative opportunities for top-class Italian technology. This, then, is the optimistic scenario surrounding the inauguration of the new Cosmec headquarters in Verona, the new base for a long-standing company that designs and markets brick handling and clay processing solutions: last May the company moved its operations from Isola Vicentina to the new headquarters in Via Thomas Alva Edison, the centre of a thriving industrial and manufacturing district.
Directing this move was the Sacmi Group, a global plant engineering player with sales of over 1.4 billion euro which has chosen to locate the new strategic hub for its brick and tile-making machine manufacturing operations in Verona. Already a pivotal industry player as a provider of machines and complete plants for the manufacture of bricks, roof tiles and extruded products, Sacmi acquired a majority share in Cosmec in 2014 and, last summer, assumed 100% control of corporate capital.
"The purpose of this move is to bring together, within a single strategic hub, all the Group's heavy clay activities", explains Stefano Lanzoni, General Manager of the Sacmi Group’s Heavy Clay business. The transfer to Verona (editor’s note: the new headquarters in Via Thomas Alva Edison has been operational since May) concerns not just Cosmec but all of Sacmi Forni’s activities related to the Heavy Clay business, "the aim being to offering the market ever-more comprehensive services and turnkey solutions”, observes Lanzoni, “from individual machines to automation, from logistics to sales and after-sales services".
This vertical integration of the supply chain has always been part of Sacmi’s DNA. However, while approximately 87% of sales are made internationally, the company keeps its technological and manufacturing core firmly in Italy, allowing us to make the very most of this latest strategic acquisition. "We’re delighted to inaugurate a facility that evokes the Group’s roots," noted the President of Sacmi, Paolo Mongardi. "Sacmi has always nurtured all the technologies and skills needed for the successful management of the businesses in which it operates, and over time this has resulted in unparalleled machine and product know-how. Verona was a natural location choice, as the Sacmi Group already had a well-structured presence in the Verona area, with branches and companies working in the beverage, sanitaryware and tableware sectors. Today, then, we inaugurate this new production site proudly, confident that it will be a contributor to the local economy as both employer and skills developer."
"This investment”, noted Verona’s city councillor for economic affairs, Marco Ambrosini, during his speech at the inauguration, “demonstrates Verona’s capacity to weave an international giant like the Sacmi Group into its economic fabric. Likewise, we have to give the company credit for seizing this opportunity and opening up a new facility that will mean greater well-being for families in Verona and throughout our communities." Those communities were, for the occasion, represented by parish priest Don Aleandro De Berti, from the neighbouring parish of Saint Lucia Extra: "Our Lord, working in his father’s workshop, stressed the value of work in building the partnership with God," he explained to those present during a brief moment of prayer. "From this point of view, economic endeavours, where done justly and for the greater good, take on a sacred dimension that we have a duty to acknowledge and honour," said the pastor before blessing the site.
After the cutting of the ribbon and a tour of the facility, the inauguration’s international guests and participants were transferred to Rimini, where the 25th edition of Tecnargilla – the international showcase of technology for the ceramic and brick industry - was being held. This was preceded by a brief visit to Sacmi’s Research Centre in Imola (Bologna), where the Sacmi Group’s parent company and long-standing headquarters is located.