Ferraro SPA, considered one of the top players in the textile finishing domain globally, is lining up an interesting mix of products for ITMA 2019.
“Being just two months away from the world’s largest textile machinery exhibition, our preparations are in full swing, both from a manufacturing and promotional/advertising standpoint. We are finalizing the prototypes of the machines that we will exhibit at the fair, deciding at the same time the arrangement of the various elements in the stand in order to expand the benefits to the customers who will visit us,” Mr. Alex Zucchi, Managing Director of the company, said in an exclusive chat.
Replying to a question as to how long the company has been participating in the premier event, Mr. Alex Zucchi said: “Ferraro’s presence at the ITMA fair has been continuous over the years, from the earliest editions, confirming the great role that export represents for us and the will of the company in placing itself as one of the main participants in the international arena.”
Pointing out why participation in the event is important for Ferraro, Mr. Alex Zucchi said: “As export represents almost the totality of our business, we obviously pay great attention to sector fairs. Given the unparalleled importance of ITMA, we focus all the attention on this event. It will be the showcase of what has been achieved over the past four years and of what we will be doing in the next ones, in terms of new developments and increasing our market presence”.
Listing down the benefits that the company has derived by joining ITMA, Mr. Alex Zucchi observed: “Apart from having always recorded an increase in business in the months immediately after the exhibition, through new orders and contacts, the most important benefit derived from our participation is the opportunity to relate directly with our reference customers, both existing and potential. This makes it possible to obtain direct feedbacks from companies (which represent a priceless treasure), and to establish interpersonal relationships with customers, which then extend over time, well beyond ITMA.”
Going into details about the products that the company has lined up for the Barcelona edition, Mr. Alex Zucchi remarked: “We have worked hard and thoroughly over the past year and a half to study new solutions for different sub-sectors of the great universe of finishing. Specifically, we will present the latest products related to washing, both after printing and after dyeing, purges, oil, wax and paraffin removal. In addition to it we will also display our latest developments in what we are famous for all over the world, i.e., compactors (tubular and open width).”
“This ITMA edition will be the one in which we will present the greatest number of innovations. We have deposited 5 patents in the last year and a half, especially regarding a higher quality of the processes with respect to reduction in energy consumption and the environmental impact generated. Our objectives therefore are to attract a larger reference market both in terms of customers and industrial sectors, as we are confident that a large number of companies will benefit from the solutions offered by our machines,” he added.
According to Mr. Alex Zucchi, the company’s target audience is operators who are looking for quality. “Ours are among the best performing finishing machines in the world, both in terms of structural quality and processes, to guarantee the highest repeatability of work cycles while maintaining a formidable quality standard of the output. They will above all benefit from a ‘smart’ environment in which they can discuss the solutions we can offer them based on their specific requirements. They will be able to see the machines running and realize by themselves the incredible developments we are introducing in the market.”
Highlighting the recent performance of the company, vis-à-vis exports, Mr. Alex Zucchi observed: “Our global export alone represents almost the totality of our business, with a percentage of about 97%. This is the result of several factors. First of all, it is the decline of the domestic textile industry in Italy. But, above all, the great growth of some emerging markets. Among these, undoubtedly, Asia represents our major reference market, which is fragmented into several very different sub-markets, but in all of them the Ferraro name is firmly established.”
Continuing further on the company’s key export markets, Mr. Alex Zucchi said: “Our main market, if considering a single country is the criteria, would certainly be Turkey. However, our biggest regional presence is in the Middle East and South Asia. We constantly monitor the emerging and promising markets. So far, we have seen the best results in Uzbekistan and Egypt, while sub-Saharan Africa is projected to be an interesting source of opportunities in the near future.”
Speaking about the performance of the company in FY 2018-19, Mr. Alex Zucchi stated that compared to the same period of the previous year, the company has recorded an increase in revenues of around 10%.
Highlighting some of the points that offer Ferraro’s products the competitive edge, he explained: “We take great pride in promoting a business culture of ‘innovation in tradition’. We have completely embraced the culture of Industry 4.0 and what this new industrial revolution represents. We have been actively working towards total automation of the processes of our machines that will allow customers to have an overall view of the entire machine, from data to all functions concerning productivity. This will set a clear advantage for us in the market compared to our direct competitors. Apart from that our renowned name represents a guarantee for customers who approach us: our machines quality as we do not compromise on constructing materials quality, our service availability worldwide, 360° support, our efforts in R&D to be constantly innovative, and extensive global network are certainly the other major points.”
The company has recently expanded its factory, having doubled the production volume. “This will allow us to promptly respond to the increase in orders to be able to fulfil our commitments in production and shipping. Plus, we have added a fully automated warehouse as part of our plan to build a smart factory. We take pride in investing in our staff. Our human capital is the most important asset we have. Our production is done entirely in Italy. Our service infrastructure worldwide is growing not only in terms of size but also in terms of expanding our presence with deeper relations. This is being carried out through, for example, an increased availability of spareparts in certain hubs, availability of engineers, technicians and specialized staff to respond to the customers’ requests of maintenance promptly and without any delay,” Mr. Alex Zucchi added.
He signed off with his brief statement: “We would like to welcome everyone to visit us at Hall H-2, stand B-207.