Fasteners
The voice of businessmen: MECAVIT.
The voice of businessmen: MECAVIT.
The point of view we hear this week is the one of Mr. Giuseppe Verdoliva, commercial director of Mecavit, the company from Castelguelfo (Italy), leader in the industrial production of high resistance carbon steel and stainless steel fasteners.
What are your products used for?
In the most varied areas, from automotive to motorcycling, appliances, sophisticated mechanics, window frames, furniture etc.
The most driving area is...?
Lately we have been working well for the automotive industry. We got new orders from major European customers, as a result of an expansion and improvement project carried out in recent years.
Let's talk about it.
Lately, despite the global crisis that hit our industry, we have developed a series of measures to optimize our business processes: a new laboratory tests system, an innovative thermal treatment line, which for high resistance steel fasteners is the most delicate phase. In addressing to the socket and 6 lobes small dimensioned screws, we decided to favor the production of special screws, which now accounts for 65-70% of our offer. Regarding the raw material, about 90% consists of carbon steel wire rod and the remaining 10% of stainless steel.
The orientation towards the special screws, certainly much more challenging, allowed us to bring our brand out of the domestic market, and open the doors of prestigious groups operating in industrial sectors of excellence. For those customers we produce unique screws that put a strain on our professionalism, but we receive in exchange rewards and a strong continuity of the relationship over time. You go for a segment of high-class clientele, then?
Quality is our forte. Mecavit, while being in line with the market, is sometimes not identified as a company of the cheapest, this is true, but we face customers that consider, in addition to price, quality, respect of delivery times, respect of contracts... And this aspect, closely monitored, is a strategy that is paying off.
You are in a positive phase.
Yes, 2011 has started along the lines of 2010, which for us was an exceptional year.
As for exports?
65% of our production is sent abroad, especially to other European countries, especially Germany, France, Holland and Scandinavia.
And how do you promote yourself when you move abroad?
We participate in the more interesting trade fairs. We were among the Italian exhibitors in Stuttgart, at the Fastener Fair at the end of February. We also decided to exhibit in India in the first edition of Fastener Fair in Mumbai, to test the possibility of following one of the most active emerging markets in the mechanical industry. In April 2012 we expect to participate in the Fastener Fair in Hanover, which will take place within the wider subcontracting trade show.
Apart from fairs, which other means do you use?
It has a great importance for us to travel abroad, to keep in touch with customers, and maintain an ongoing personal relationship with the companies we work with. At the same time, we reserve a lot of importance to the web, with the participation in the portal expofastener.com, that we keep up to date by publishing the latest corporate news, and our own company website, updated with the news that affect us.
From the perspective of one who works in the field every day, and knows the issues, if you could make an appeal to entrepreneurs, politics, institutions, who would you turn to and for asking what?
The relationship with local institutions has always been good. The criticism that we can do is that the timing of institutions is not like those of companies: the bureaucracy makes you lose too much time and this slows down development. We really would need rules that could simplify and and streamline the procedures and authorizations which are necessary, however.
I would also like to speak to European entrepreneurs, asking them to focus and look more closely at the production coming from EU countries, which has nothing to envy to the Asian one. Of course, with an eye to competitiveness, considering that the technological innovation of the producers has reduced a lot the price gap that once existed for the European companies.
We must be the first ones to support our industry, and make every effort to preserve the jobs of European workers, directly helping our economies.
