By Federico Piazza

A small Italian company, located just an hour away from Venice, is the global leader in the production of paint-brush industry technologies and is moving quickly towards complete digitalization.

MGG in Conegliano, specialized in producing machinery for paintbrush and roller manufacturing, is increasing turnover, staff and investment in R&D by implementing a short supply chain and augmented reality for technical assistance and customer training.

“We’ll complete the process this year”, affirms Loris Maestrutti, CEO of MGG Srl, which is at the forefront of machines and plants for the production of round and flat brushes and rollers used in sectors such as construction, restoration, DIY, woodworking and the nautical industry. A niche market that calls for quality technology.

MGG’s case is a fascinating one. It started out as a typical artisanal business in the late 80s and has always maintained low output but exceptionally high quality, with a completely in-house design and manufacturing supply chain.

In 2019, in order to increase the growth objectives, without compromising on the quality of either products or customer service, founder and president Gianfranco Marcon decided to entrust the organizational and strategic transformation of the company to a top manager from big industry.

As a result, Loris Maestrutti, with over thirty years of experience at Danieli and Camozzi, is now taking on the challenge of the culture and requirements of a typical Italian SME.

Over the last four years, MGG’s turnover has grown from 2.9 to 5.0 million Euros and it has expanded its workforce by 60%. It has also increased its annual R&D investment ratio by three-and-a-half times since 2017. This year, projected growth is no less than 20% with pre-scheduled orders and others currently under negotiation.

Production capacity has to be ramped up in order to achieve even more ambitious results, but quality remains paramount.
This calls for a complete reorganization according to individual goals, accelerating the transformation of processes such as: full automation, advanced artificial intelligence algorithms, transversal application of IoT, unique data culture with digital management of internal and external flows on a cloud platform, and market diversification through specialized product lines.

“Full digitalization will take place through partnerships with companies specialized in the supply of robots and quality/vision control systems, but also with sustainability in terms of worker safety,” explains Maestrutti, “With a focus on quality, to be understood as a measurable concept through constant innovation to maintain a level of excellence.”

Marcon emphasizes the strategy of an internal manufacturing chain and short component supply chain to ensure a fast and uninterrupted supply, “MGG has always followed this business model from its inception back in 1989” adds Marcon.
A vision that has continually showcased the company’s strength, even more successful in this particular moment that has affected business across the globe. MGG has four specialized product lines.

“MGG Paintbrush Innovation designs and produces for the paint brush market, it represents 70% of our revenues. MGG Meccanica, with its 18 latest-generation CNC machines, performs in-house machining and also offers contracting services. MGG Plant supplies industrial equipment for furniture assembly and wood palletizing. MGG Robotics designs and manufactures quality/vision control systems.”

This latter division is at the IT heart of the digital revolution. Firstly, it serves the core business — paint-brush machine manufacturing — where complex data about production lines, composed of 16 pieces of equipment and capable of an hourly production rate of 1500 pieces, need to be elaborated and analyzed.

In addition, MGG, has just launched the web-based Service on Site platform, thus becoming the first company in the sector to offer such service. Technical assistance and training for the client can be carried out through augmented reality applications with direct chat.

MGG Robotics is also diversified in three other sectors. “Medical physiotherapy, with software developed for muscular rehabilitation; the sports industry, with machines used for various types of training; the steel industry, with automated systems for separating ferrous from non-ferrous elements in industrial waste recycling, which reduces the amount of human work and fatigue while maintaining constant precision in this type of activity.”

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By Maurizio Sala, entrepreneur, president of Amafond 

As the president of Amafond, an Italian foundry supplier’s association which involves approximately 100 manufacturers of essential equipment and auxiliary products for the industry, I am proud to represent Italy’s ferrous and non-ferrous metal foundries. 

Our industry employs no fewer than 6500 workers and our global turnover is more than 1.5 billion Euros, 75% of which is accounted for by the export market. I am also directly involved with the industry myself as the owner of Foundry Ecocer, a leading name in the production and sale of an expansive range of materials required by smelters, cast houses, refineries and a variety of different types of foundries.

I believe that the scope of the global crisis induced by Covid-19 means that most companies, certainly many in Europe and the U.S., will be dealing with the fallout, from a financial or market standpoint, for many years to come. However, although many industries—such as the automotive sector—were already in crisis before the pandemic, we now have to look for the best way forward in the post-covid business environment. 

My opinion is that a courageous and well-structured plan devised by a united Europe will be able to restart our combined economic system and aid our industries in evaluating and innovating new solutions to reinvigorate our economy.
Clearly, the immediate consequences of this global pandemic will be, and are currently, felt by everyone involved in the international production and supply chain: owners, managers, administrative staff and workers have all come under extreme stress and challenges.

What is necessary now is a united and shared effort on the part of each individual, making the most of their specialized skill sets and capabilities. All projects and programs launched in this new environment must be clearly set-out, the goals well-defined, and also shared throughout the corporate structure. A united and motivated team can lay the foundation for an effective relaunch.

To give you all a clearer picture let me cite an example: the sales facet of businesses,  always fundamental, must establish new objectives and a new vision.
This will entail the evaluation of the nearest markets—both domestic and European—focusing on those that may previously have been neglected while companies focused on markets outside of Europe, which have been more profitable in the past.

While these foreign markets may still be viable sources of income, sales will now need to be more targeted. To avoid doing business in the old ‘hit and run’ style, European companies will not only need to learn how to effectively explain the customs and traditions of the products they are selling, but also to become more aware of those aspects of the markets they are selling into.

This will involve a shift in the old mindset and more intensive interaction with these foreign markets to ensure that the economic and information flow becomes healthy and sustainable for all involved.

Italy, Milan, Corso Venezia street during COVID-19 outbreak — Photograph: Westend61

Let me share with you a brief sketch of the steps currently being taken by my company to cope and move forward in this difficult time.

Our business is of strategic importance for our country.
Thankfully, because our activities fall into that category, we’ve been given the opportunity to maintain continuity in our daily business. We were closely following what was happening in China through the media and we were able to plan quickly and take effective action.

Before a formal, national protocol was issued, we had the foresight to organize our activities in a way that safeguards and maintains the health of our employees in these trying circumstances.

In addition to adopting individual protection measures for our staff, we swiftly revolutionized many other aspects of the way we work.
We divided the working day into two shifts of eight hours each. Teams were also equally distributed in terms of the hours they worked so that it was possible to maintain appropriate distances and other safety measures. Our office administration involves keeping a single staff member in the office (per shift) while the others work remotely.

Everyone was kept abreast of the new rules and protocols.
However, rather than just ‘pinning a memo to the company bulletin board’, each and every employee was thoroughly briefed about the dos and don’ts of this new way of working, which ensured smooth operations.
We also introduced a simple and effective ozone air-purification system for many environments including our offices, laboratories, and small production areas, which I feel should actually have been considered earlier.

Thanks to our readiness and quick action, and the updating of our working methods, all of our employees are behaving very responsibly and, just as important, they feel secure. I think we have managed to establish a very effective system.

Of course for this to continue, financial or economic interventions at the government level are needed just as much as a motivated staff. Above all we feel no shortcuts should be allowed in order to emerge from the current crisis both stronger and better prepared for the future.

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