Andi-mec based in Ozzano dell'Emilia, with over forty years of experience in the field has become the centre of a business network, through entrepreneurial ideas and techniques.
One of these was choosing Breton machining centres.
(by Paolo Beducci)
“There are some who are born to be entrepreneurs. I wasn't one of those though. I just ended up doing the job and as I had a family to feed, I accepted the role required. It was almost an obligation!”.
This is how Vittorio Grandi begins the story of his career and how he set up Andi-mec, the first company of a group with branches in Emilia Romagna and Romania, paving the way for new forms of partnership between entrepreneurs.
Grandi's career started in the 70's. At the time he was a fitter and tester of machines and plants for one of the biggest packaging machine manufacturers. His job was to travel the world and get to work what had been designed and manufactured in Italy and exported all over the world.
“It wasn't easy," he recalls in his straightforward way, "I was a troublemaker, a fervent trade unionist. That's how I clashed with the owner of the company I was working for. Probably in order to try and eliminate a discordant voice, he decided to offer me the chance to set up a business on my own and started giving me the machines and plants they made to test and ship to the final customer”.
They must have realized that someone with a strong personality would want to push ahead and create something that went beyond daily routine. The first step towards change came in the early 1980's when Grandi bought two lathes and two milling machines from a company going bankrupt.
“At the time, there were lots of companies like mine with a pair of machines ready to be used for small jobs and adjusting plants being tested”.
For Grandi however it was a slightly different story. The two lathes and milling machines were often idle, which he didn't like.
“So I decided to go round drumming up some work for my four machines," recalls Grandi, "and see if I could find someone who knew how to use them”.
Solutions can quickly be found to problems. Work started coming in and the machines, through the help of two ex colleagues who helped out in the evenings, produced parts at a healthy rate. At this point, obviously, things started getting interesting, so I set up another two companies with my two ex colleagues, producing parts for third parties in the machining industry.
Things went well and the two companies grew, although industry in general and mechanical engineering in particular was going through a significant transformation at the time. Rather than machining and constructing everything in the one company, people were turning more and more often to outsourcing for a significant part of their machining requirements. For Grandi and co. this translated into an increase in the demand for finished parts and complex machining services.
Inevitably this meant considerable growth for Andi-mec and its subsidiaries, especially in terms of high-tech machining. This growth made Andi-mec a point of reference in machining complex parts. To keep up with business, Grandi bought new machine tools: machining centres, in particular.
The most interesting aspect in terms of industrial policy was the way Grandi created a network. This was only obviously possible thanks to the help of Grandi's partners over the years. Today, forty years after the first Andi-mec seed was sown, the group of companies in the small Dicoservice holding work with over 250 collaborators. A real business network that can therefore also offer its services to major players on an industrial scale always looking for solid and reliable suppliers.
But let's leave the strategy and economic choices aside for a while and focus on the technical aspects of the Andi-mec offer.
Obviously, if a company has managed to cut itself a niche in the market and remain in business for forty years, the entrepreneurial capacities and the quality of its work are irrefutable.
Today the company from Ozzano dell’Emilia has a wide range of machines all of which were chosen with one goal in mind: quality, productivity and service, can all be found under one roof.
Today, Andi-mec can produce a single prototype, or a series of products for a wide range of industries in numerous applicative fields. These range from the railway to the aeronautical industry, but also include the packaging, automotive, energy, foodstuffs, pharmaceutical sectors and more.
What makes this possible is the correct mix of technological skills, organizational systems and productive integration. The combination of these elements guarantee the flexibility, speed and quality of a service our customers can count on.
The last machine purchased by Grandi for Andi-mec, was a Breton machining centre.
“The reason we chose to purchase a Breton machine," says Grandi, "is because we want only machines based on the very latest technology. Today, having the latest technology is the only way to remain competitive. Also because," continues Grandi, technology gives us the space and time to guarantee the highest level of service without sending costs sky high”.
The Breton machine installed is one of the top models of the manufacturer from Treviso, an Xceeder, a high speed vertical gantry-type machining centre, built using Metalquartz structural technology, with a rotary tilting worktable and direct drive. High workloads in a restricted space, high rigidity compared to a traditional arc-welded or polymer compound structure, are the strengths on the basis of which the Xceeder offers accuracy and operating stability second to none.
“We went to visit Breton," continues Grandi, "and we realized it was a company that operates at the highest levels of excellence. So we took the plunge and bought the first machine, and we're very happy with it. We'll be purchasing another from Breton as soon as we can.
The reason for this is not only because we're fully satisfied with the Xceeder we have in the workshop which works really well, it's also because we feel we've had the benefit of continuous support from the manufacturer who can assist us step-by-step at a time when something unexpected turns up, which is especially vital when dealing with the latest technology. Difficulties are something you have to get used to in this job.
It's inevitable. So, instead of looking for the best price, or discount, or other more or less consistent promotions, I think it's important to deal with a serious company that realizes it hasn't finished its job as soon as the machining centre has been consigned and installed. Also in this sense, Breton in my opinion is a company of the future.
It's not a question of spending or saving a few thousand euros when you're already spending hundreds for the machine. The most important thing is that you're dealing with someone who's serious about their work”.
For info and request about Breton Xceeder machining centre write to mail@breton.it.
We’ll get back to you promptly.
Well, that’s all for today, thanks for your attention.
Bye-bye
Sergio Prior
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