Founded in Rome in 2008, Onyx Technology has succeeded in establishing its leadership in the Information Technology (IT) market, providing highly qualified consulting services that are rigorously customised to the needs of each individual customer. Stefania Romano, CEO & FOUNDER of this all-Italian excellence, tells us about the challenges the company has had to face in order to emerge in a highly competitive and constantly evolving sector. by Roberta Imbimbo
Dr Romano, with what mission was Onyx Technology born? The company was founded in Rome 15 years ago with the aim of providing highly qualified corporate IT consultancy to large corporations and multinationals located throughout Italy. Thanks to a strategic vision and an innovative business approach, Onyx Technology has experienced exponential growth both in terms of organisational structure and geographical expansion, with the opening in 2016 of a second operational office in Milan. Today, this dynamic and future-oriented company has as many as 80 employees, with a high percentage of women; a high added-value peculiarity that has allowed it to win for two consecutive years the prestigious Women Value Company Award promoted by the Marisa Bellisario Foundation and Intesa San paolo for having particularly distinguished itself in the field of gender equality, the promotion of women’s careers and the development of innovative welfare policies. It therefore stands on the market as an expert and reliable partner able to support the growth of the many companies interested in integrating software development and system development activities with qualified skills. Valuing human capital and the high quality of the work offered to customers are the strengths that have enabled you to increase your brand reputation in a highly competitive market. How important is human capital training for you? Very much! Every day we work hard to ensure that every person who works with us is offered a real opportunity to grow personally and professionally within an open, innovative and stimulating working environment, investing considerable resources in internal professional training. More. A year ago, in collaboration with the Lazio Region, La Sapienza University and a number of prestigious companies in the area, we set up an ITS – a highly specialised technological school of excellence recognised by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) – with the aim of enhancing the technological skills in the IT field of each member (an area in which there is much demand but little supply) and of hiring the best talents at the end of a two-year training course, as an alternative to university.
In fact, the ITS- ICT Academy was created to provide a concrete response to an ever-increasing demand for new and high-technology and digital skills, with a highly professionalised training offer (aimed at high-school and university graduates and those who want to enhance their technological background), which favours the immediate insertion of young people into the world of work. We are constantly looking for new talents, we want to guarantee our members (last year as many as 75) an adequate level of training to achieve an increasingly active and aware role in the new knowledge society and, above all, to make a great contribution to the process of digital change that is disruptively revolutionising the world of work with the introduction on the market of highly qualified professional figures, in great demand by innovative technology companies.
Operating in Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Veneto and Tuscany, MM Operations is an Italian excellence founded in 2015 with the aim of asserting its leadership in the industrial logistics sector; a challenge won thanks to its total governance: a structure capable of effectively providing for the autonomous administration of all aspects involved in customer projects, guaranteeing speed of intervention, continuous efficiency and traceability, and a strategic vision, oriented towards the centrality of people and the maximisation of customer satisfaction. The company – which has experienced exponential growth in a short time, both in terms of turnover (of 52 million euros) and organisational structure (it now boasts about 1,300 highly qualified collaborators) – has succeeded in clearly differentiating itself from its competitors thanks to its highly specialised know-how, huge investments in technological innovation, and the high quality of the services provided in strategic or commodity outsourcing, in outsourcing or in house. “It is no coincidence,” says President Maurizio Beretti, “that MM Operations has been included among the Leading Companies of Growth 2023 drawn up by Statista and Il Sole 24 Ore, the fifth edition of the ranking that highlights the Italian companies with the highest turnover growth in the three-year period 2018-2021”. MM Operations, which manages a total of 265,000 square metres of logistics facilities, both owned and in-house at its customers’ premises, thus proposes itself as a highly qualified and reliable partner of Italian manufacturing companies that turn to the contract logistics market, guaranteeing a unique, economical, efficient and ethical virtuous model of logistics management, and allowing them to profitably focus on their core business. It also acts as Organisational Intelligence for the companies of the future because it strongly believes that there is no tomorrow for those who sell profitability at the expense of Human Capital. Following this philosophy, every year it invests considerable resources in training and updating the technical knowledge of its employees – to whom it offers a real opportunity to grow within a highly innovative working environment – aiming at hyper-specialisation that enables them to better manage the technological development imposed by a constantly evolving market. All this obviously has repercussions on the final offer provided to the customer, who can count on services with high added value!
Over the last few months there has been a succession of substantial changes to the Procurement Code, the first of which was published last 31 March in the Official Gazette (legislative decree 36/2023), in force from 1 April 2023 but actually operative from 1 July 2023. Illustrating the latest news on the subject, and the impact they have had on the world of certifications, is Dr Manolo Valori, Technical Director of CVI Italia, the Italian branch of the Slovakian group CVI SRO, one of the most important companies in the field of voluntary certifications with international accreditation. by Roberta Imbimbo
Dr. Valori, how have the changes to the Procurement Code, introduced by legislative decree 36/2023, impacted gender equality certification?
Dr. Valori, how have the changes to the Procurement Code, introduced by legislative decree 36/2023, impacted gender equality certification? A small premise is necessary. The certification for gender equality is a document that attests to the policies and concrete measures taken by employers to reduce the gender gap in relation to growth opportunities in the company, equal pay for equal work, gender management policies and maternity protection. This is a certification of great importance for companies that, by obtaining it, not only contribute to the development of an increasingly inclusive and sustainable economy, but can also access attractive tax breaks and obtain higher scores in public procurement rankings. The old Procurement Code (legislative decree no. 50/2016), the one in force until last 30 June, stipulated that contracting stations should indicate the bonus score awarded to holders of gender equality certification in accordance with UNI PdR 125:2022, a certification issued by an impartial third party. On the other hand, Article 108, paragraph 7 of the new Procurement Code (Legislative Decree no. 36/2023) states that contracting stations must award a “higher score to companies that certify, also by means of self-certification, that they meet the requirements set forth in Article 46-bis of Legislative Decree no. 198/2006”. In other words, this rule leaves it up to the contracting stations to verify the reliability of both the self-certification and the requirements possessed for the certification of gender equality. Precisely for this reason, it has met with disapproval from all those realities (technicians, operators, trade associations) that consider self-certification incapable of providing the same guarantees as a certificate issued by an accredited third party, especially if checked by a small contracting station that obviously may not have the technical expertise to judge whether or not the self-certified requirements meet the provisions of the law.
Is this the only substantial change made to the old Procurement Code? Absolutely not! Another substantial change, between the old and the new version of the Code, concerns the reduction of the incentives provided for companies wishing to acquire gender equality certification. The Procurement Code 50/2016 granted the economic operator a 30% reduction of the deposit to participate in accreditation procedures (not cumulative with other reductions). The new Code, on the other hand, reduces this percentage to 20 per cent, but makes this reduction cumulative with other reductions linked to obtaining certifications or marks included in Annex II.13 of the Procurement Code. In the new Procurement Code, moreover, digitisation becomes the ‘engine’ for modernising the entire system of public contracts and the contract life cycle.
The amendments contained in Article 108, paragraph 7 of Legislative Decree No. 36/2023 were the subject of heated debate among the various stakeholders involved. It is no coincidence that the Decree-Law No. 57 of 29 May 2023 introduced new corrective provisions. Can you tell us about them? Article 108 of the new Procurement Code was revised by the government, which chose to intervene through Article 2 of Decree-Law 57/2023 published on 29 May 2023, eliminating both the references to self-certification of gender parity certification and the verification of reliability. In fact, Decree-Law No. 57 of 29 May 2023 establishes that “in order to promote gender equality, contracting stations shall provide in the calls for tenders, notices and invitations, the highest score to be given to companies for the adoption of policies aimed at achieving gender equality proven by the possession of the gender equality certification referred to in Article 46 -bis of the Code of Equal Opportunities between men and women, referred to in Legislative Decree No. 198 of 11 April 2006.” In other words, today self-certification drawn up and signed by the company itself is no longer recognised; therefore, companies can only prove possession of gender equality certification by means of certificates verified by an impartial third-party body and merit the highest score awarded by the contracting station.
Born in Ravenna, Italy, the son of ophthalmologist Cesare Forlini, Dr Matteo Forlini is an ophthalmic surgeon specialising in the treatment of retinal diseases, vitreoretinal surgery and ocular traumatology. An international excellence in the field of ophthalmology, he is the author and co-author of numerous scientific publications in journals worldwide. His latest contribution – published in the Journal of Ophthalmology and the result of collaboration with internationally renowned ophthalmic surgeons – is a Special Issue on Different Methods of Secondary Intraocular Lens Implantation. by Roberta Imbimbo
Dr Forlini, how did your passion for this profession come about? With great passion and determination, I decided to pursue the path taken by my father, becoming an ophthalmologist specialising in vitreoretinal surgery, in the treatment of retinal diseases, and in ocular traumatology. After graduating in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Bologna, I specialised in ophthalmology at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. It was in Modena that I worked for several years in the complex structure of Ophthalmology at the University Polyclinic, dealing with retinal pathology and vitreoretinal surgery, an activity that I later carried out also at the University Hospital of Parma. To further my studies on the subject, I attended the European Vitreo-Retina Training School EVRTS in Bremen, Germany; I also had the opportunity to gain important experience in clinics of international standing, such as the Weill Cornell Medical College Presbyterian Hospital in New York, the Instituto de Microcirugia Ocular in Barcelona (IMO), the Klinikum Frankfurt Hochst in Frankfurt, and the Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital in Mumbai. Today, in addition to practising privately in my city Ravenna, I also perform my clinical and surgical activities at the State Hospital of San Marino, the Sol et Salus Clinic in Rimini, the D.S.C. in Bologna, the Hesperia Hospital in Modena and the S. Maria Maddalena Clinic in Occhiobello (Rovigo).
Over the years, you have contributed to a number of scientific publications; it is no coincidence that you have been selected several times by the Journal of Ophthalmology as Lead Editor of several in-depth articles, the result of valuable collaboration with other experienced ophthalmic surgeons from all over the world. Can you tell us about it? The latest work published in the Journal of Ophthalmology – a Special Issue on Different Methods of Secondary Intraocular Lens Implantation – consists of a collection of scientific articles on innovative surgical techniques used in the treatment of complex cataract and ocular trauma cases. In addition to the collection work, I also took care of writing some in-depth articles together with the group of the San Marino State Hospital with which I collaborate, under the guidance of the head physician Dr. Alessandro Mularoni. This Special Issue gathers together scientific articles from all over the world and has as co-editors five professionals of excellence in the field, Professors Boris Malyugin (Moscow), Ike Ahmed (Toronto), Gabor Scharioth (Recklinghausen), Rodolfo Mastropasqua (Chieti), and Alessandro Mularoni (San Marino), and will be presented in September at the ESCRS European Congress in Vienna. Sometimes, unfortunately, we find ourselves having to manage complications after cataract surgery (especially late complications related to the dislocation of implanted prostheses) or after traumatic events, and this has led to the need to resort more and more frequently to alternative artificial crystalline lens implantation surgery (secondary implants). It has become necessary to use new materials and new intraocular lenses in order to achieve better results with fewer post-operative complications.
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Why are these techniques innovative? Why do they differ from classic cataract surgery? Cataract means opacification of the crystalline lens, the natural lens of our eye that focuses images on the retina and regulates far and near vision. Today, this disease is the underlying cause of 50% of all cases of blindness and 33% of visual impairment worldwide. The only treatment available today is surgery – about 600,000 cataract operations are performed in Italy each year – aimed at removing the opacified crystalline lens, which is replaced with an acrylic lens (artificial lens). Modern cataract surgery, the result of the refinement of surgical techniques, in fact consists of placing an artificial intraocular lens (IOL, IntraOcular Lens) inside the capsular bag, which is absolutely biocompatible and high-tech, to restore the refractive power of a natural lens. This capsular bag is usually perfectly transparent and the new intraocular lens is implanted inside it, finding a perfect fit. In complex and severe cases – which may be related either to congenital defects, intraoperative complications or ocular trauma of various kinds – the capsular support may be severely damaged; in these cases it then becomes necessary to resort to the use of alternative intraocular lenses (secondary IOL implants), which are chosen according to the needs of the individual patient: they can be either iris fixation – if they are anchored directly to the iris by means of two clips fixed in the anterior or posterior chamber – or scleral fixation, sutured in the posterior chamber or even without suture using the most innovative techniques.
Il existe donc aujourd’hui toute une série de méthodes de plus en plus conviviales pour les patients, qui permettent d’obtenir des résultats encore inimaginables il y a peu. Absolument ! Ces dernières années, les progrès de la biotechnologie et des techniques chirurgicales ont permis de disposer de plusieurs prothèses performantes de dernière génération et de plusieurs stratégies de positionnement de plus en plus pointues qui ont littéralement révolutionné la prise en charge des cas complexes. Il suffit de penser aux techniques populaires de Carlevale, Yamane et Iris-Claw qui permettent de fixer la lentille intraoculaire sans suture, avec des avantages considérables pour les patients en termes d’invasivité minimale, de réduction du temps opératoire et de retour plus rapide aux activités quotidiennes. Il s’agit manifestement de méthodes sûres, efficaces et indolores, réalisées en chirurgie de jour, qui améliorent la qualité de vie et la vue des patients, ce qui est décisif dans la quasi-totalité des cas.
In the era of the climate crisis, the topic of sustainable architecture acquires fundamental importance, precisely because buildings, both new and existing, have a significant influence on the ecological quality of the environment in which they exist. Architecture becomes sustainable if it takes responsibility for the ethical, environmental, economic and social weight of each individual project; when it aims to ensure a limited use of resources, a low environmental impact of buildings and a high level of wellbeing for people. Architect Cristina Mazzola, owner of Studio CMA Atelier d’Architettura, has been involved in the recovery and renovation of the existing building heritage for several years, in order to determine a technological and performance upgrade according to the renewed parameters of energy saving and environmental sustainability, thus becoming a spokesperson for best practices throughout the sector and a virtuous example of sustainable architecture in Italy. A competent woman with a passion for her work – many remember when pregnant with her first child she went to the building site every day – who has succeeded in asserting herself in a predominantly male world, overcoming professional challenges of great value. by Roberta Imbimbo
Architect Mazzola, when was CMA Atelier d’architettura born? And with what mission? Established in 2006 in the heart of Milan, CMA Atelier d’Architettura is a professional Architecture Boutique highly specialised in the redevelopment of existing public and private buildings and urban regeneration. Thanks to a strategic vision, a highly specialised know-how, and a multidisciplinary team of qualified professionals (mainly women eager to emerge in a very competitive sector), this young and dynamic reality, today in full expansion, has always been committed to the diffusion of a new culture of Architecture, more attentive to the realisation of projects with low environmental impact. Not only the numerous bonuses currently active in Italy – which are of fundamental importance to us because they are an accelerator of a green sensitivity that our country did not have two years ago – but also the constant pressure of climate change, both on a global and local scale, are pushing us towards a greener and eco-friendly approach during all phases of a project, towards a decidedly more conscious design and redevelopment, in order to achieve highly innovative design solutions, capable of fostering respect for sustainability in the building sector.
How do you combine economic development goals with environmentally friendly policies? The construction sector is today responsible for 36% of energy consumption and 39% of carbon dioxide emissions released globally. It is therefore necessary that this sector also makes a really important contribution to the fight against climate change. Firmly convinced of the importance of reducing our ecological footprint on the Planet, we at CMA Atelier d’Architettura are working hard to develop an increasingly green approach to the design, construction and redevelopment of buildings with low environmental impact. Indeed, those who design, construct and redevelop buildings have a moral and ethical duty to consider how each one characterises the context in which it is immersed. That is why we strongly believe in deep building redevelopment rather than new construction, so as not to affect land consumption. Our cities are already saturated and those few green spaces that remain intact deserve to be protected. In Italy, among other things, there are about 2 million disused buildings; it is unthinkable that ancient palaces, castles, old farmhouses or historical buildings, characteristic of certain geographical realities, should be abandoned. Our country, on the other hand, could benefit from intelligent redevelopment: many buildings could be recovered for an obviously compatible use; they could, for example, become smart buildings, highly technological structures that represent a great opportunity for a sustainable future since they are able to reduce energy consumption, CO2 emissions and pollution; others could be converted into public utility facilities or even turned into prestigious museums. Thanks to the experience gained over many years of activity, we at CMA Atelier d’Architettura are able to guarantee a 360-degree, highly qualified and reliable intervention, strictly tailor-made, i.e. tailored to the needs of each individual client. And this is how we are able to put our vision of sustainability into practice at every stage, always starting with an accurate analysis/diagnosis of the structure’s pathologies and ending with the definition of an ad hoc protocol for rehabilitating the building envelope. Last year, for example, we upgraded about fifteen residential buildings located in suburban areas of Milan and its hinterland, significantly improving their indoor environmental quality and the urban context of reference. Among these, I would like to mention a project that is currently underway to improve the efficiency of a large apartment building with the establishment of the largest energy community for the autonomous production of electricity from photovoltaic panels in the Milan hinterland. With some prestigious partners, interested in innovative upgrading of new building systems, we are developing an experimental design for the integration of innovative products and systems that will be integrated in some upcoming construction sites and open the door to the future. We are also active in the renovation of interior spaces through green design that is attentive to the client’s needs. One noteworthy project is the recent redevelopment of the headquarters of the Order of Nurses of Milan, Lodi, Monza and Brianza, in the Porta Nuova area, which was conducted with the inclusive objective of creating comfortable and multifunctional spaces for training members.
How important is human capital for you? It is our most valuable resource. We focus a lot on young people – the average age of our firm is around 30 – so that they can enhance their hard and soft skills and fully express their potential, in a highly innovative and stimulating working environment. We invest in young people by creating ad hoc training courses (as a former professor of Architectural Technology at the Polytechnic of Milan, where I taught until two years ago, I strongly believe in the value of a more and more punctual training), moments of confrontation and in-depth study of the project through the use of BIM programmes, to provide them with the tools to enhance their specialised skills, to make them better prepared to face the challenges of a highly competitive market, and to encourage their full practical involvement. To this end, we have signed agreements with the main design laboratories, with the main Universities of Architecture in the Milan area, in particular with the Milan Polytechnic, with the Milan Technical Institute (IED), with Brera, and with the Order of Architects (thanks to an 800-hour internship, students can directly access an oral exam of the State examination, thus skipping the written exam).
Investing in young capital is a considerable effort, but at the same time a necessary investment for those who, like us, believe that the future must be built by regenerating the freshness of actions, with that creative and propulsive force of those who, full of enthusiasm, are able to continuously put themselves into play. And it is precisely to young people that we also seek to pass on our ethical values, so that they themselves become the active protagonists of the dual energy and environmental transition strongly desired by the European Union. In recognition of our efforts, to our great satisfaction CMA Atelier d’Architettura has been selected as one of the 200 best Italian Architecture and Design companies of the year 2022.
Born in 1991 from a passionate and far-sighted idea of architects Lelio Di Zio and Antonietta Di Clemente, OrianoAssociati is a professional architectural firm highly qualified in the realisation of projects aimed at the rigorous recovery and compatible redestination of Italy’s historical and ancient architectural heritage. Preserving the past, creating timeless spaces for the future” is the leitmotiv of a Group that builds the future while rigorously maintaining the historical identity of the past, firmly convinced that conservation and innovation can now coexist in a harmonious and balanced relationship.
by Roberta Imbimbo
Lelio Di Zio
Architect Di Zio, what is the core activity of the firm? OrianoAssociati Engineering is a historic reality in Montesilvano that has experienced exponential growth over the years, a highly qualified professional architectural boutique, able to take care – thanks to specialised know-how in various sectors of Architecture and Engineering – of every project at 360 degrees, with professionalism and reliability, while remaining tied to its original identity as a small workshop. Thanks to an innovative approach, it has decided to focus its activity on the recovery and compatible redevelopment of the historical and ancient building heritage, with special attention to the minor heritage, which undoubtedly represents a very important identity value for our country. The mission is to contribute to the economic and social redevelopment of the many small Italian villages, historic centres that have been abandoned over time but actually offer enormous potential thanks to the permanence of their identity and beauty. Firmly convinced of both the cultural value and the unexpressed economic potential of these heritages, we have invested in the development of a redevelopment idea that has become internationally relevant over the years. Despite the initial difficulties – the entrepreneurial class was initially reticent to invest in these heritages – with the project on Santo Stefano di Sessanio, which has gone from being an abandoned village to a virtuous example of sustainable tourism, a recovery model has been consolidated – made possible also thanks to the financial commitment of a far-sighted entrepreneur – aimed at preserving the historical identity values of one of Italy’s most beautiful villages.
The Restoration of the Beauty of the Historical and Ancient Architectural Heritage is not only a cultural duty but also a great opportunity for economic development compatible with the preservation of the identity values of Landscape and Territory. Absolutely. A compatible redevelopment of historical and ancient heritage allows for the preservation of its evocative values, attractive to an elite cultural tourism that every year chooses to discover Italy’s historical artistic and architectural beauties (in 2022 alone, our country welcomed as many as 142 million visitors interested in a tourism involving a lesser-known but equally important Italy). Therefore, investing in the recovery of those abandoned villages – which over time have maintained intact a beauty that as a whole has a great evocative capacity – as well as being a moral obligation because it is representative of the history, culture and identity of those territories, is also a great opportunity for wealth and tourist promotion capable of generating employment (villages today are depopulated because there is no work; but if the right conditions are created, if investments are encouraged that give a real boost to the local economy, people and young people will return). Each location obviously has its own intrinsic beauty and historical identity to be preserved. Our objective is therefore to contribute to enhancing what history has bequeathed to us, without altering the perception of places but rather focusing on rigorous recovery and conservation, and on a redevelopment that is compatible with those values that make the investment economically sustainable, feeling a strong need to offer an increasingly refined tourist the chance to enjoy experiences that generate emotions. And in order not to lose the evocative charm of these historic places, any enhancement project must be able to combine the past with the future, tradition with modernity, conservation with innovation, which today can perfectly coexist in a harmonious and balanced relationship.
Among the many projects you have curated, which ones would you like to remember? There are three projects that can represent the different realities of our abandoned architectural heritage. In San Benedetto in Perillis – thanks to careful conservative restoration – a small rural building has become a destination for tourists from all over the world. A luxury B & B, brilliantly managed by two young guys, is able to meet the needs of those who from a holiday dream of an extra experience, linked to the beauty and history of the local cultural heritage. Restored to its ancient splendour, the Semivicoli Castle has instead been transformed into a charming Relais, to offer visitors the opportunity to live in contact with history and nature, and to enjoy the quality food and wine that is making the Masciarelli family famous throughout the world. And finally, as mentioned above, the historic centre of Santo Stefano, an abandoned village has once again become one of the most beautiful villages in Italy (a square metre of house purchased in Santo Stefano for 150,000 lire today is worth 5,000 euro), attracting an elite tourism that makes it a must in the world. In conclusion, today abandonment is often associated with decline, with a definitive loss of interest. For us at Studio OrianoAssociati this is not the case. Abandonment is synonymous with rebirth. The secret is to know how to look beyond what apparently seems to be just a ruin destined for oblivion; to know how to give new life back to abandoned buildings, historic residences and villages with the aim of projecting into the future an extraordinary heritage that Italy has been lucky enough to inherit over centuries of history.
Founded in 2017 in Bolzano, Italy, LCF has established its leadership in the Italian renewable energy market, focusing its core business on the acquisition, standardisation and optimisation of small-scale industrial photovoltaic plants, i.e. those with an average power of 1MW. The current portfolio under management includes more than 113 plants located throughout Italy, from as many as 85 different companies. Gianluca Paci, Head of Origination, and Vincenzo Ventricelli, Senior Business Developer, talk about the future challenges that the company is called upon to face in an increasingly globalised and sustainable context. by Roberta Imbimbo
Dr Paci, with what mission was LCF born? LCF was born in 2017 from a spin-off of BELECTRIC Italia, an Italian branch of a German multinational company that is one of the largest providers of O&M (Operation & Maintenance) services, globally, managing a portfolio of over 1.7 GWp of photovoltaic and storage systems. Established therefore as a financial rib of a historical reality highly specialised in the design, construction and management of large-scale photovoltaic systems, strengthened by this strategic alliance, LCF has decided to focus its core business on the acquisition of small and medium-sized plants in the secondary market, i.e. plants ≥ 0.6 MWp already implemented and connected by other players, with whom it has established over time valuable commercial partnerships. To date, its portfolio includes over 113 plants located throughout the country, with an aggregate capacity of about 102MW, from as many as 85 different companies. Thanks to a strategic vision, highly specialised know-how, an innovative acquisition approach, and a multidisciplinary team of 30 qualified and motivated professionals, this all-Italian excellence is today perfectly capable of successfully managing the acquisition of existing plants in all Italian regions – in our country there is considerable potential in terms of existing plants to be expanded or made more efficient – also taking care of repowering and revamping operations, and successfully managing the legal, technical, financial, fiscal and bureaucratic issues of each operation, also taking into account a regulatory framework that is constantly evolving. The ultimate goal is also to sell electricity to local companies without intermediaries.
LCF is a company with a green heart that has always combined economic growth objectives with sustainable development policies. Absolutely. The growing sensitivity towards environmental issues and sustainable economy have pushed LCF towards a mission that places corporate social and environmental responsibility at the centre. In fact, we strongly believe that good governance is an essential requirement for sustainable development, and we have quickly become a spokesperson for best practices throughout the industry. Our decision to target the secondary market was therefore by no means accidental, and over time it has proved rewarding. (In recent years, over half a million new systems have been installed in Italy. This exponential growth in installations, especially since the lavish government incentives came to an end, has created the conditions for the development of the secondary photovoltaic market). Thanks also to substantial investments in R&D, throughout this time we have strived to give a second life to obsolete or disused installations, replacing old panels with the latest generation (our interventions are aimed at tripling the energy output of the installation with the same surface area used, and exploiting the areas bordering production facilities to build plants that can sell energy directly to energy-intensive companies). This strategic vision has allowed us to combine business development objectives with a low environmental impact policy, using the same land, i.e. land that is already anthropised, significantly decreasing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, and fuelling the circular economy in line with the parameters of Industry 4.0.
Dr Ventricelli, so many achievements in so many years of activity. Future goals? The goals we have achieved – today LCF is the leading Italian operator in terms of number of systems acquired, managed, and relaunched – tell the story of a dynamic, future-oriented company with increasingly broader horizons that has succeeded in asserting its leadership in a highly competitive and constantly evolving market. However, our most ambitious challenge is to continue to expand in all major European countries by 2025, acquiring 100 MW each year (between efficiency upgrades and expansions of existing plants). We also aim to offer increasingly high added-value services to the local communities in which we operate, not only by continuing to offer highly qualified and reliable technical, financial, and legal assistance, but also by starting to sell energy directly to the end user (today, energy produced and not immediately self-consumed is fed into the grid and managed directly by the GSE (Gestore Servizi Energetici). In short, thanks to its expertise and professionalism, LCF aims to play an increasingly leading role in a flourishing and solid market, to disseminate a new culture on renewables, offering increasingly sustainable and innovative financial, operational and energy consumption models aimed at facilitating the energy transition strongly desired by the EU. With this prospect of expanding our services, we are aiming to implement our network of collaborations and partnerships, both in the technical and commercial fields, and we invite operators in the sector to contact us for more information. We want to structure a solid network of alliances with whom we can share our goals and achieve great results together.
The Swiss multinational Maag Group – highly qualified in pumps and systems for filtration, pelletising, pulverising and recycling – offers the global market advanced process solutions for the chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries. In recent years, the company has invested significant resources in the Italian headquarters in Rozzano, which has thus undergone rapid expansion in terms of both workforce, turnover and geographical expansion: today, this all-Italian excellence is in fact operating in all continents of the world. In this long interview, Claudio Bonafede, Managing Director of Maag Italy, talks about the future challenges that the company is called upon to face in an increasingly competitive and globalised context.
by Roberta Imbimbo
Claudio Bonafede, Managing Director Maag Italy
Dr. Bonafede, with what mission was Maag Italy born? Founded back in 1927, the Italian headquarters in Rozzano has focused its core business on the engineering and production of external gear pumps for industrial chemical applications, acquiring Industrial product responsibility and thus becoming a centre of excellence with commercial responsibility at global level. Thanks to a strategic vision and an innovative business approach, the company has therefore experienced exponential growth both in terms of workforce (over time we have grown from 60 to 110 employees) and in terms of geographic expansion (it now operates in all continents of the world) and turnover (which has more than tripled in recent years). Its capillary presence on the global market – in truly strategic positions – and its highly specialised know-how allow it to develop highly innovative, sustainable and customisable premium solutions, thanks to which it has succeeded in increasing its brand reputation on international markets and significantly expanding its customer base, today mainly companies operating in the chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics sectors.
How have you succeeded in establishing yourself in international markets? In order to achieve increasingly ambitious goals, we have focused on a complete customisation of the offer, absolutely tailored to the needs of the individual customer: to specific needs, specific solutions. And to venture as far as possible into the fourth industrial revolution, our commitment has gone as far as reorganising our production facilities according to the paradigms of Industry 4.0 (investing significant resources in machinery designed to support green applications), to be increasingly oriented towards digitalisation, production and energy efficiency, environmental sustainability and the circular economy. From 2018 to date, we have also invested heavily in R&D to proactively anticipate the needs of an ever-changing market, to increase the efficiency of production processes and to drastically reduce production-related energy consumption: smart technologies applied to our processes have disruptively revolutionised the way we operate, enabling us to make our management models more efficient, to optimise production processes, and to constantly monitor the various operational processes, to create increasingly innovative and high-performance products aimed at satisfying the demands of the most demanding customers (in recent years we have developed several patents on innovative features and functions compared to the original product), to use biodegradable materials to enter a market segment in which Maag had never been so focused and, of course, also to increase our competitiveness in the global market. These peculiarities have in fact allowed us to clearly differentiate ourselves from our competitors and maximise customer satisfaction, which has always been a priority objective of a dynamic, innovative and customer-centric company.
How important is human capital for you? And how important is it, in the era of digital transformation, that people remain the beating heart of every process? Human capital is undoubtedly our most valuable resource. Indeed, it is people who give value to work through competence and determination, all very important ingredients that translate into invaluable added value in the service of customers. The current economic scenario, characterised by ever-increasing globalisation and digitalisation, inevitably leads to a sharp increase in competitiveness between companies. In order to respond to the changing needs of a highly competitive digital market, in which machines work more and more closely with humans, we have decided to focus on a high degree of specialisation of our human resources (in terms of hard and soft skills), concentrating on continuous training; this is because people today are required to have increasingly specific skills, in order to be the promoters of a sustainable development policy. Our priority objective is therefore to enable every employee to be an active player in the dual ecological and digital transition underway, transferring to them increasingly specialised and innovative skills. Even in the last two years, objectively not an easy one, we have invested considerable resources in young talent, even quadrupling the pink quotas in the team (key positions in the Board of Directors are now held by two men and two women). This confirms our commitment to building an innovative and stimulating working environment that offers great prospects for professional growth. So many achievements to date. Future objectives? To continue growing, aiming at market segments that have been unexplored up to now, and to further improve the efficiency of the Rozzano site, which, in collaboration with several Italian and foreign Universities, is working on the engineering of revolutionary products aimed at supporting applications for the pharmaceutical and food sectors. An ambitious challenge to be pursued in order to be ever closer to customers everywhere in the world.
Founded in 2011 from a far-sighted idea of entrepreneur Roberto Castaldo, a professional trainer and business consultant – the only Italian included in the Global Gurus ranking of the thirty best international professionals in time management – 4 M.A.N. Consulting is a consultancy company highly specialised in Performance Management (PM), which has established its leadership in the business management market. Thanks to a strategic vision and an innovative, integrated and certified consultancy, training and coaching model, this all-Italian excellence is today able to support SMEs in their development and growth path, making their employees’ performance more effective. Very important features in an increasingly global and competitive context. by Roberta Imbimbo
Dr. Castaldo, with what mission was 4 M.A.N. Consulting born? The company was founded in 2011 with the ambitious goal of asserting its leadership in the market of business consulting to Italian family-based SMEs. A challenge that it succeeded in winning thanks to a strategic vision and an innovative business approach aimed at combining the purely quantitative aspects with the more strictly qualitative ones referring to human resources management. Thanks to substantial investments in R&D in management, over the years we have been able to devise and certify a whole series of cutting-edge methodologies, now used internationally. Our integrated model of Performance Management with a humanistic matrix is based on mathematical algorithms, but it is also able to give a numerical quantification to the intangible aspects of human resources management. It is a model that is based on humanistic leadership, on the recognition of the leader as facilitator of the process of improvement and increase in employee performance. A model that puts people at the centre, in a context – such as today’s – that has an objective need for this: in the era of digital transformation, artificial intelligence, automation and digitisation in the spirit of Industry 4.0, it is indeed fundamental that workers remain at the heart of every operational and production process.
So why is your consultancy approach so innovative? Because it enables us to support companies in achieving important goals by intervening in three specific areas: people, processes and numbers. The resulting scientific system is also based on three pivotal points: Mathematics (for the precise measurement of data and business models used by the client), Neuroscience (for learning processes and human resource management) and Coaching (for planning and standardisation of processes within the company), thus enabling the entrepreneur to work on those functional areas that must necessarily be managed to perfection in order to make a company grow. This is a very important model for Italian SMEs, especially in perspective. Today, in fact, many of them do not survive the death of the founding father, and few make it to the second generation: in the delicate generational transition, a large part of the know-how accrued by the entrepreneur is often lost, and he is not always able to managerialise the operational and organisational context, creating a generation gap that is detrimental to the survival of the company itself. It is precisely in these cases that humanistic leadership intervenes and produces its effects, changing the paradigm and forcing the leader to adapt to the context and not vice versa. The leader is the advocate of the change process, he is a strong and reliable guide who must support human capital with an adequate transfer of knowledge, he must indicate the initiatives necessary to achieve long-term transformation goals and implement strategies that help all stakeholders to achieve these goals. Our humanistic matrix model allows us to perform a qualitative-quantitative analysis, intervening on governance leadership style, balance sheet analysis and brand awareness. These areas of intervention allow us to make a precise mapping of talents and skills within the company; thanks to a mathematical algorithm we then go on to understand, with respect to the numbers expressed by the company in terms of turnover and value, how to bring out its unexpressed potential. By intervening in specific areas – Strategic-Directional Consulting, Management Training, Coaching and Temporary Management – within six months, we succeed in increasing company performance by 34%.
Today you are developing meticulous work on the appropriate organisational, administrative and accounting arrangements for the company. What is it all about? The entrepreneur has a duty to set up an organisational, administrative and accounting set-up appropriate to the size and nature of the business, also in view of the early detection of a crisis and loss of business continuity. In fact, an adequate organisational, administrative and accounting system represents an important source of information for identifying the best management choices, aimed at guaranteeing continuity and safeguarding the company’s assets. Previously optional, today this fulfilment has been made compulsory with the entry into force of Article 375 of the Business Crisis and Insolvency Code (Legislative Decree no. 14/2019), which supplemented Article 2086 of the Italian Civil Code, a strong reminder of the duty of sound management to which the entrepreneur is bound. Thanks to substantial investments in R&D, we are now highly specialised in measuring and reporting to the entrepreneur the interventions required to take care of the adequacy of organisational structures.
Many achievements over many years. Future goals? To start exploring markets that are still unknown and that offer numerous growth prospects, opening Business Units in Spain and England to better embrace the international context, on the strength of the experience gained in so many years of activity (to date, I am the only Italian in the Global Gurus ranking, which rewards the thirty best international professionals in time management). To continue to grow, transforming the company into an S.P.A., to win ever more ambitious challenges while always having at heart the maximisation of customer satisfaction.
Established in 1976 and now in its second generation, Riem Italy is a historic company in Rome highly specialised in the marketing and maintenance of compressed air compression and treatment equipment. Over the years, this all-Italian excellence has managed to increase its brand reputation in its target market, thanks to a strategic vision and a low environmental impact policy. Fabio Russo, CEO of Riem Italy, in this lengthy interview talks about the future challenges that the Lazio-based company is called upon to face in an increasingly competitive, globalised and sustainable context. by Roberta Imbimbo
Dr. Russo, with what mission was Riem Italy born? About 50 years ago, my father, entrepreneur Francesco Russo, backed by many years of experience in large multinational companies, decided to found a company specialising in the marketing of lubricated and oil-free air compressors (very important machinery for assembly line automation), destined for the industrial sector. Thanks to a strategic vision and an innovative business approach, Riem Italy soon managed to expand both nationally and internationally, achieving surprising growth both in terms of territorial expansion and turnover (today we invoice around 7 million euros a year, 2/3 of which is abroad and the rest in Italy, where we also offer a high value-added after-sales service to large industrial groups). The real turning point came when I joined the company. Firmly convinced that innovation and sustainability are the keys to success for any business, I added other strategic activities to my original core business, creating a special branch of the company dedicated to the production and maintenance of spare parts for large industrial compressors, in order to offer the global market products that are increasingly technologically advanced and have a low environmental impact.
Riem is in fact a company with a green heart that places great emphasis on environmental sustainability. How do you reduce your ecological footprint? Our sensitivity to environmental issues, coupled with increasingly stringent government regulations on emissions, have driven us to improve our green credentials in order to achieve ever more ambitious sustainability goals; but also to offer high-performance, green machines to meet the industries’ requirements in terms of environmental safety. Our commitment to a more sustainable future, however, has not only been limited to the adoption of precise environmental and corporate social responsibility, but has even gone as far as reorganising our production processes, focusing on the reconditioning of compressor packages to recover the full functionality of used, obsolete or disused machines. Our aim is to recondition original equipment compressor packages at zero hours, so that we can avoid the need for a complete replacement of the machinery, which is clearly economically advantageous for the requesting companies and good for the environment. With the same mechanical performance, we can therefore produce less waste, emit less carbon dioxide and feed the circular economy, in line with the parameters of Industry 4.0. Thanks to a series of distributors located all over the world – today we are present in the USA, Canada, South America, Australia, South Africa, and the Far East – we have succeeded in exporting our highly specialised know-how and our pro-environmental business culture across borders, becoming the spokesperson for best practices throughout the sector.
So what peculiarities distinguish you from your competitors? In addition to the experience and professionalism gained over many years of activity, the continuous and substantial investment in Research & Development (to proactively anticipate the technological needs of an ever-changing market), reverse engineering is undoubtedly the prerogative that most distinguishes us from other market players. Thanks to state-of-the-art instrumentation, we are perfectly capable of producing spare parts, analysing in 3D the product design, the geometry (shape and dimensions) of each individual element to be replicated, so as to reproduce it perfectly, correcting any defects and improving certain functional aspects. This reverse engineering process has allowed us to increase our brand reputation in the international market, where we are now known for quality and reliability. Another of our strengths is our human capital. The 50 or so people who work with us and for us are undoubtedly our most valuable resource, on whom we invest a great deal both in terms of continuous training and welfare policies. The aim is to enhance and increase individual professionalism in an innovative and stimulating working environment, so that each employee is not only able to offer high value-added services but also becomes a promoter of a sustainable development policy.
So many achievements in so many years of activity. Future goals? Certainly to continue to grow in the global context, penetrating hitherto unexplored markets, expanding the worldwide network of distributors and broadening the range of products offered, facing the challenges of the future without ever losing our historical identity as a future and environmentally-oriented company.
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