“the right strategy to stand out in markets” - Todesco, a Creazzo (Vicenza) company, offers statwatch software that monitors production performance in real time
There is full confidence in the growth program planned in the past few years which combines an in-depth analysis of world markets, paying attention to raw material prices and production with energy costs. It is a 360-degree strategy, also linked to dynamics that are not only economic, which is being carried out by the top management of Todesco of Creazzo (Vicenza), specializing in the production of intelligent finishing systems serving the tanning sector, led by brothers Paolo and Giorgio Todesco. We held an interview at the headquarters in late April to analyze the market situation and future developments of the Veneto company.
“As far as we are concerned,” the words of Paolo, “2023 will be a year of growth, after we did a lot of work in the preceding year from the point of view of research and development. In 2022, the costs derived from energy expenses and the difficulty of supplying raw materials caused a slowdown in investments by many companies in the sector. It was the global economy that suffered the expense, which had already been weakened in recent times by extra-economic phenomena like the health pandemic, a blockade in China and the war in Ukraine. There was also a slowdown for our company, which we have already made up for with the first few months of this year, as we have orders until early spring 2024.”
Giorgio e Paolo Todesco
What dynamics should be focused on when investing or supplying abroad?
“While there used to be a lot of outsourcing of technology production, now it is no longer so convenient, both because of transport-related dynamics, which see constant price fluctuations, and because of increased challenges that might suddenly arise, such as port blockades or logistical difficulties. There is also the ever-present risk of cross-sanctions between various countries. As for us, we will further develop the production organization abroad, in China and Mexico, not intended as relocations, but as locations from which to manage local production and sales. Surely the time is over where, because of low labor costs, we would produce on the other side of the world and then resold in Italy.”
Is there a specific goal in this strategy?
“Above all, to consolidate our presence in diversified markets. As far as we are concerned, we will do precisely this in Central America and China, with the latter remaining the most attractive market in the world and where we were able to assemble machines even during the Covid period. This will make it possible to set up Asian or Mexican companies that are Italian-owned. The project planning will continue to be followed directly from here, in the technical department, in which we have been investing a lot of resources for years, both economically and in professionally.”
However, from a business perspective, what are the correct choices to make?
“First of all, pushing for innovation as much as possible, both technology of product and process, the discussion obviously does not concern only our brand but all the businesses in the tanning sector. At present, the focus on chemical product reduction and sustainability are important topics, not forgetting, however, that what unbalances so much in the final calculation is related to time savings, for a machine the hourly cost is calculated in thousands of euros. In the end machines without serious process control have such a high cost that you can no longer create profitability.”
What solutions do you propose to clients?
“We present the client with real numbers, analyzing specifically what it costs to produce each finished batch, the overall impact, and how much can be saved with advanced solutions with a clear advantage in productivity. One example is Speedster 2.0, a machine that can simulate our spraying lines, with absolute precision, allowing us to test the results of the painting process on samples or small production runs without engaging the core production line and generating downtime. Speedster 2.0 is a newly designed machine, the result of years of experience and continuous presence of our technicians in leather finishing departments, which was created from the synthesis of long and in-depth analysis of the production performance of spray finishing lines and the critical issues that occur daily in such departments.”
What are the critical time-related issues?
“The set of activities required to verify and validate colorimetry and other aesthetic characteristics such as, leather opacity: subsequent to the painting process on a spray line, require execution time that averages more than 30 percent of the entire workday. Conditions that are compounded if it is necessary to correct the color loaded in the spray booths.
This becomes unsustainable when color that does not correspond cannot be retrieved and reprocessed, therefore losing the amount used to load the circuits. The current market trend, that requires the daily production of numerous items even for small square footage, at the expense of single-product batches, is a further motivation to the improvement of the work process.”
In the end, how do we arrive at total machine control?
“Through the productivity of the lines, which we have identified with software called Statwatch, developed entirely in-house, which allows real-time monitoring of the production performance of Innover and Kingfisher finishing systems. This is an essential tool for reducing steps, controlling downtime in manufacturing processes, and predicting maintenance of our machinery in advance.
raditional systems generally originate as “parasitic” applications that require operator intervention to define the state of the machine, such as set-up, production and downtime. Often such monitoring systems are applied on machinery that is made with components supplied by different manufacturers and therefore are not governed by a common logic and language. Therefore, it is not merely a matter of data analysis, but more of an indirect reading of operating conditions.”
What is the main feature of the Statwatch software?
“The fact that it is not only operationally independent, but provides the qualitative production result, identified by OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), and the environmental impact relative to the batch produced during the reference period. The main dashboard displays a time scale, generally days, the number of hides finished and the number of hides that, without production inefficiencies, could have been finished. In the context of the parameters examined, with the numbers actually realized and the potential number, as well as the production of skins, a real productivity of less than 50 percent emerges on average. In addition to this, on each batch, we are introducing the measurement of each consumption: finished chemical product on the leather, of the liters of water used, emissions into the atmosphere, as well as the costs of electrical and thermal energy. Using this method, the client can create a statistic of what items have the greatest impact on the environment and especially on production. Such a system, in which it is strategic to reduce downtime as much as possible, is in high demand especially abroad, but also in the main Italian leather districts.”
How is information displayed on the proposed TODESCO system?
“Through the so-called production graphs: the simple and intuitive “pie charts” summarize all the operating phases of the finishing line, within two main states, that of equipped and unequipped machine. In particular, when the machine is equipped, therefore ready to finish, one can identify the times related to the absence of hides, the time lost due to excessive spacing of the hides in the conveyor belt, through to the time needed for brushing and blowing of the guns. All the equipment steps are then summarized: maintenance, washing of the guns, preparation of the machine to the point of even detecting the absence of the operator.”
From the operational point of view, how does the software affect labor management?
“Statwatch is able to interpret the production steps, and through a sophisticated algorithm, provide value of production, expressed in number of skins and total area of finished skins, along with the value of lost production, which arises from lost time with machine equipped and ready to spray. In a daily chronological chart with the graphic presentation, the user can quickly see when and where production stops occurred. Through a time chart, it is also immediate to understand at what times of the day production inefficiencies occurred. All monitored data are exportable with reports can be optimized for production management or, in greater detail for the production analyst.”
“the technical office is the heart of the company” - Giorgio Todesco, Chief Technology Officer: “Here, every choice is shared with the team; everyone is spurred to ‘Think outside the box!’
In addition to being a partner together with his older brother Paolo, in the Creazzo-based company, Giorgio Todesco holds the important role of CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and head of the technical office.
“Within the company – explains Giorgio – the sharing of each project is essential; everyone is informed of what is happening and which projects are in progress. The core of the business is represented by the technical office, where 8 specialists work. The group is made up of 2 engineers, as well as designers, planners, programmers and software operators and right here the main R&D activities take place; to this office is destined most of the investments: we decided to devote our resources in research and engineering, as well as in hiring specialized technicians and professionals. Our archive holds an authentic “treasure” made up of about 20,000 exclusive mechanical drawings, all the single components are elaborated and designed by us. Just to give an idea of the figures, we can reach up 180-200 thousand components in each machine produced by Todesco. Our in-house laboratory is also strategic, as it guarantees support for customers who want to test our machines and their leathers, and it’s a very useful tool to make research and always aim at new goals.”
Why did you choose to have such a unified staff?
“It is a well-considered entrepreneurial strategy, successfully carried out over the last 15 years. The industrial network of Vicenza and of the whole region boasts a high level of industrialization, where leaders in precision mechanics, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering work; they’re able to guarantee a high level of know-how and careful cost management. Pieces and components are made by third-party companies, chosen among excellent firms, in a limited territory, a few kilometers away within the province. The decision to give up in-house mechanical production also took place for a matter of space, that would not allow us to set up other departments in addition to those we have.”
Is there also an economic aspect at the base of this choice?
“Undoubtedly yes. If we had to buy machining centers to internally produce all the parts, we would need an investment of between 10 and 20 million euros (and get obsolete machines). But to do so we would also need a workforce of 70-100 specialized employees: hiring specialists to dedicate to machining, carpentry and electrical parts would mean having a huge structure that would not bring us any advantages. We are good at designing, assembling and installing systems, and we leave the rest to those who know the job better than us. Without forgetting that, as a business philosophy, we want to keep changing, innovating and improving. Mechanical technology is constantly evolving and, in this way, we have the flexibility and the possibility to change components as we desire.”
Your systems are appreciated as always innovative: how important are partnerships with universities?
“Very important, in particular we gladly collaborate with the University of Padua. We often make use of researchers as external collaborators from the university itself, where we go to study and develop projects, some of which are still in progress. As part of this collaboration, we follow two spin-offs of the Padua University, in the fields of robotics and physics, with which, on the one hand, we are developing some machines and, on the other, the evolution of processes. Sometimes the also come and visit us in the company: in this case we usually make a simulation of certain processes in our laboratory. The agreements with the university have led us to obtain funding and the possibility of filing new patents: we currently have 14, including international ones, concerning components, processes and machinery. Very often the research work is long, it takes even years before we can present an innovation to our customers; we try to be scrupulous before launching a product on the market.”
What rules have you set for those who enter the company?
“First of all, we consider each employee, newbie or veteran, a precious resource, so we have to put him in a position to work at his best, also for the good of the rest of the group, given that everyone must interact with each other. Who is assigned to the technical office, just to give a concrete example, does not carry out a sedentary activity but must know how to get involved, trying with his own hands what it means to assemble or deal with a wrong piece. Generally, those who work in this office often travel to the laboratory, meet with suppliers or physically go to the production plants to personally ascertain the procedures in place: being updated on innovative machinery and production systems is essential for a business like ours, which aims to raise the bar. Our task is to follow their training, keep them updated with different thematic and specialized courses and make them interact on different types of machinery so as not to be focused on always dealing with the same things.”
In the context of a very united team, how do you facilitate the exchange of information?
“With targeted meetings that are held almost daily and, in some case, even several times a day, during which various topics or particular situations that have arisen suddenly are covered. They involve the different departments; opinion and experience of those who carry out the assembly, for example, are important, too, as they can give us significant info on problems to be solved together or the hint to launch new ideas which we then decide to undertake. All the employees involved within the company actively participate in these meetings, and in turn they are sent to carry out site inspections. Every element of the group is spurred to “Think outside the box!” and freely express one’s opinions and solutions. Obviously, we follow hierarchies and every task is assigned to the right person: I am the technical manager, then there are the production, service and work organization managers, and finally those who most often interact with the owners.”
Why is the technical office so strategic?
“This is where the idea starts and the project is developed, then engineering, product development, model creation and testing follow, all phases at the end of which we forward the request to outer companies. When they return at headquarters, we carry out quality control, assembly, testing and shipment, which includes turnkey delivery and after-sales consultancy. Inside our technical office there are two branches. The first focuses on the research phase, therefore everything related to the development of new solutions. The second instead follows the customer and the order management process, which leads to the definition of each component, perfectly filed and inserted in the workflow managed via software. Thanks to this meticulous preparation, our plants are able to be operative a few hours after installation.”
How do you carry out the design?
“Following the customer’s requests, according on the needs of our sector, we draft improvements or new developments that can lead to an increase in product quality, a reduced maintenance or a series of process changes. In general, customer difficulties are quite common, we analyze them and enhance the products: the machines are always customized in terms of size depending on the type of processing and leather that is made.”
How about installing the plants?
“Each machine is designed, developed, built, assembled and tested here, giving us the certainty of reducing problems as much as possible in the tannery. The most complicated equipment are the spray guns, electronics and electromechanics, which are assembled, tested and adjusted very carefully. Once assembled in the factory, the customer can start production at full capacity from the first hour.”
How do you manage IT in the company?
“Each order, whether it represents a job to be done for a customer or an in-house production order, is managed electronically from start to finish; a bill of materials is generated by the technical office, let’s say that there is a “project who commands”. This is implemented through management software – PLM (Product Lifecycle Management, ed.) – which interacts with the management system so that all the main data are always controlled, including material flow, the status and costs of the orders and the withdrawals. The same system is connected to the automatic warehouse, therefore the withdrawals and the preparation of the components are always controlled by the software, too. Of each machine we know exactly how it is been assembled, when this occurred and the name of the operator who worked on it. The tanning world is rapidly evolving and relying on an advanced system is essential when having important machinery installed all over the world. Even today we receive requests for different components installed by our father back in the 1980s: we often manage to find a solution so as not to “leave alone” the entrepreneur or technician who asked us for support.”
History - A “great” adventure that began in the Seventies
“We thought about it, we designed it, we tried it, we did it all over again. And we’ve been doing it for two generations.” With these beautiful and constructive words, reported on the Todesco website, the corporate and family history of the company based in Creazzo (Vicenza) can be traced. The firm, founded by Giampietro Todesco in 1971 under the GT Todesco Snc brand, initially specialized in the production of equipment with ultrasound technology to control leather spraying. The start of the current business, which also includes the manufacture of complete spray-painting lines that led the company to be acknowledged as one of the leaders at an Italian and international level, actually dates back to 1976, in a home garage. Since then, there has been a crescendo, both in terms of technological innovations, the development of new products and of international appeal. In this sense, the growth in the Eighties was essential. In that period, many steps forwards were made: Microp, the first economizer with on-board microprocessor was delevoped (over 1000 models sold); the naval sector increased, with the delivery of spray systems for the giant firm Fincantieri; the innovative “Jetto”, the first controller for electrostatic spraying, was conceived. Equally significant was the development that took place in the following decade: the creation of the first low-pressure spray gun, model GTV1, dates back to 1990; the birth of the “Cometa” multifunction economizer in 1997 and the complete lines for high energy savings in 1998. From a technological point of view, the 2000s were decisive, as the brought important innovations immediately well appreciated by the market in the field of innovations: from the launch of HV-01 and HV-02, the second and third generation of low-pressure spray guns, up to the modern rapid color change systems. The second decade of the new century was central in the development of Todesco, as it featured the handover of the second family generation: Giampietro was supported by his two sons, Paolo, 42, and Giorgio, 33, who later became sole partners. The two brothers both undertook specific studies before joining the company staff: the first graduated in electronic engineering at the University of Padua while the younger achieved a degree in mechatronic engineering at the university of Vicenza. The definitive relaunch of the Todesco brand dates back to 2015, the year in which the Innover line was launched on the market, that is the very first system featuring 24 spray guns and which still today represents one of the tops of the range. The Innover line was launched together with other solutions never used in the sector, in particular the HVLP super spray gun, HV-03 and the Vision economizer with leather scanning without reading bar. 2020 was the year of the presentation of the “Speedster” color control machine.
A further, decisive step forward has been recorded in the current decade, during which the Veneto-based company, in addiction to strengthening its presence at international trade fairs, developed new machines: Microp Next (cutting-edge economizers that work with a simple industrial PLC), Speedster 2.0, the RLS-22 dry line washing system and the new Kingfisher lines. Important developments are expected in the second half of 2023, in line with the tradition of over half a century which will keep on offering technological innovations and new proposals not only for the tanning sector.
GRUPPO VECCHIA TOSCANATODESCO, FINDING EACH OTHER 40 YEARS AFTER
The Fucecchio (Florence) company purchased a complete Kingfisher spraying line produced by the Vicenza industry a few months ago, which immediately went into operation with excellent results. A relationship of trust that began last century
Paolo Todesco and Francesco Testai, son of Valerio, current CEO of Gruppo Vecchia Toscana
An industrial partnership that began in the late 1970s is united by an almost familial relationship. It is a bond that has persisted for more than 40 years, one involving the tanning group Vecchia Toscana Spa of Fucecchio (Florence) and Todesco of Creazzo (Vicenza), which recently returned to the spotlight in early 2023 with the purchase of a complete spraying line by the Tuscan company. The Kingfisher model, fully equipped spraying line with the proprietary Todesco technology, specifically with HV-02 volumetric guns and the Microp Next economizer, which is part of the top of the line of the Veneto industry and now in operation in the production area.
“It all began in the summer of 1977 – the story told by Valerio Testai, current CEO of Gruppo Vecchia Toscana, at that time a student and not yet part of the company staff – when Giampietro Todesco, founder of the company bearing his name, came to our plant to propose electronic measuring machines that my father bought, after verifying the quality. At that time, Todesco (known as GT) had just been established and was taking its first steps from a garage at his home: like them, we too, more than 20 years earlier, had bet everything on starting a business, starting practically from nothing, after gaining experience as employees and workers. In fact, the most vivid memory going back to our relationship with Todesco is when our maintenance manager was sent to Creazzo to take a training course to then manage the new tools we had purchased. During the summer, with the schools closed, I was present all day at the tannery, and my father, who had founded the company in 1957, at the beginning of the economic boom, often sent me along on these trips, because it was a way to learn the trade and get to know new realities. I, who at that time was little more than a boy, went to learn how to use the newly purchased machines: I have a pleasant and distinct memory of that experience.”
“The new approach came almost half a century later,” Mr. Valerio confirms, “after we learned that they had produced spray guns, equipped with very advanced and sophisticated technology. In the middle of last autumn, we visited the Creazzo headquarters, where we were in front of reality quite different from the garage where it all began. Characterized by the continuous search for innovation, as an identity maintained by the new generations of the Todesco family, a real laboratory with many innovations had been established. In particular, we were struck by the Kingfisher model, which was then the one we purchased for our production plant. The Italian economic fabric is mainly represented by families, above all from the last century, also if not always consolidating it with a generational change: actually in this case I can say that continuity has been guaranteed and even more steps forward have been taken.”
“While I admit to being old-fashioned,” continues the CEO of the Florentine tannery, “I prefer to work with companies where families are at the foundation, they are the ones who helped develop Italy and make it among the world industrial powers. Today the modern economy is changing rapidly, many Italian entrepreneurs do not have the courage to pass on the company and sometimes prefer to sell it to international funds in exchange for money, but in my opinion sometimes this can be a mistake. I remain a defender of the family in every sense, ours lives the company deeply, for us it represents a second home.”
Why, then, did Gruppo Vecchia Toscana choose to invest in the advanced and sophisticated technologies of Todesco?
Answered by his son Francesco, born in 1989, who has been with the company since 2015 after graduating with a degree in management engineering.
“For a number of reasons,” he clarifies, “first of all, the desire to improve the quality of our product, destined for a very high quality market segment, since we operate in fashion and luxury, for the footwear and leather goods sectors. Another need of ours, immediately found in the Todesco range, was to reduce energy and chemical consumption and reduce emissions into the atmosphere. With the new in-line machine, which is also beautiful and elegant from a stylistic point of view, we started production from the beginning of April, immediately finding savings in electricity but above all in product, compared to an older spraying machine. Also according to our technicians, the improvement was immediate in terms of quality, without forgetting that fewer steps in the finishing phase, resulted in higher productivity and less chemical waste.”
Once the machinery went into operation at the Fucecchio plant, an exchange of information began between the top management of the two companies regarding daily production activity and all other data that can be found.
“A collaboration in this sense is fundamental,” adds Francesco Testai, “in some way it represents the A,B,C of our work: the result of obtaining an optimal product is represented by a combination of many factors, including the machine, the leather, the technician, the chemist, and the environment, so an almost daily comparison is always necessary. We must add that we were very satisfied with the installation and set-up phase of the machine, we were very well followed during this phase, as well as during the first days in which our technicians started to produce the skins. In the transition between the old and the new machinery we had estimated a period, between testing, trials and fine-tuning, of 3-4 weeks, in fact thanks to the assistance, instructions and comparison between the technicians of the two companies, production started within a few days and there were no inconveniences. With the timing of the fashion industry, where everything is fast and compressed, this was also an important added value in economic terms.”
Are there other future partnerships are possible between the two companies?
“We believe that the collaboration can continue,” conclude Valerio and Francesco Testai, “as we are convinced that Todesco will continue to be a company at the forefront of research and development of new technologies. In our business we are focused on business agreements with only a few companies, where the human relationship is important and where it is crucial to address issues quickly, Todesco is definitely one of them. We will also consider possible agreements when we eventually need to upgrade some machinery.”