This is the slogan chosen by Hawai Italia, Veneto-based company specialized in the production of small metal parts for footwear manufacturers in the fashion, outdoor and safety sectors. A true mission to overcome the pandemic and grow stronger.
A corporate philosophy that keeps nurturing innovation and a constant desire to grow and improve further. Hawai Italia strongly believes that, in order to recover from the crisis triggered by the Coronavirus pandemic and to get stronger, steady investments in research and human resources are pivotal, so as to keep providing new solutions and never stop. The firm boasts three facilities based in between San Giovanni Lupatoto and Verona, as well as one located in Slovenia, resulting in an overall surface amounting to fifteen thousand square meters. Today, thanks to the current Headquarters’ enlargement project and to the launch of new products in composite materials – cutting-edge items in terms of performances and versatility -, the company has managed to convey a positive, encouraging message. Gianni Fainelli, Italy sales manager, and Luciano Scipioni, the firm’s owner, explained in detail the upcoming innovations.
Gianni Fainelli
Gianni Fainelli, how did your company cope with the hindrances caused by the lockdown and by the Coronavirus outbreak? Besides spending time implementing research and innovation activities, we carried on with more determination the firm’s expansion and reorganization project. Over the last ten years, Hawai Italia has been experiencing a remarkable development from different perspectives. The number of employees has grown, the range of products has become more varied, the quality and size of the customers network has markedly increased, now featuring several prominent firms. We deemed imperative to change the corporate image as well, since it is the first element that catches the clientele’s attention. Hence, the decision to demolish and then reconstruct an old facility next to the building used for plastics moulding processes (the former Conforti factory in Verona), whose wide surface area is set to host, in an improved guise, all the offices: sales, purchasing, administrative departments. Consequently, the premises currently housing said offices will then feature larger spaces for other sectors such as metal accessories production, mould design and manufacturing, as well as a new area conceived for receiving and shipping goods. The project started almost a year ago and it is now in its final stages: we planned to move the offices before summer, but, due to the lockdown, we put it off to September.
In the meantime, you have managed to follow through with an important project as well. Can you tell us something more? The self-punching oval eyelet in composite material is the result of the experience acquired with the round model. In the wake of the enthusiasm aroused by this recent project, we have chosen to invest in new shapes too, with a similar functioning concept. The true round eyelet’s innovation lies in plastics ability to deform its shape when cold, without resorting to heat. Usually, the plastic material is either very pliable, yet maintaining its shape memory, or incredibly hard and, therefore, lacking shape memory and difficult to mould. The new composite features groundbreaking properties that have helped us achieve unique results. As a matter of fact, once modelled via cold processing, this material is able to keep a given shape. Furthermore, it does not require the use of paints – it can be moulded directly in master with the required shade, without chromatic limits, preventing any sort of colour change over time – and its ease of application is similar to metal. Complex machines are not necessary, just simple presses and punches.
Is the oval eyelet already available for sale? Officially, we have not launched it yet. However, we are working together with two prominent customers with whom we are in the final stages of the sample-making process. We believe that such a product, thanks to its wide range of usage opportunities, will be successful. It can be employed in an impressive array of end sectors: it is a beautiful, practical article, it has what it takes to gain a strong foothold not only in the fashion accessories industry, but also the other fields. Right now, it is a one-of-a-kind solution, there is nothing similar on sale.
Can you give us an example of this wide range of use opportunities? A customer working in the food industry that wants to export its goods to the USA, came to us, asking for a plastic version of the traditional metal, tamperevident eyelet used for the packaging, for example, of rice, butter, flours, so as to avoid any issues with metal detectors at customs. We are developing a model in composite, customized colour-wise. The application will result in a simple equipment adjustment for the customer.
How will you launch the product internationally, given the current travel difficulties and the cancellation of the upcoming Lineapelle edition? To have such a fascinating product and no chance to show it…! We are fixing the situation by shipping small samples to our customers, followed by phone calls and online contacts to explain their functioning. We do not expect an immediate feedback. However, we are ready to kick off production.
www.hawai.it