Bergi SpA, company headquartered in Arzignano (Vicenza), leader in the design, construction and sale of tannery machinery and equipment, keeps on investing to build the third warehouse
The construction of a new warehouse adjacent to the main office, about ten meters high and covering an area of 2,200 sq., is the new project that Bergi carried out this year, a year characterized worldwide by the Covid-19 emergency, which is slowing the markets but above all does not grant any certainty for 2021 nor for the years to come. The well-established company led by the Bergozza family aims at rearranging its plant through more modern and technological facilities. That’s why a consistent investment of a few million euros to enlarge the production and management area of Arzignano was carried out. Bergi also boasts an additional 3,500-square meter headquarters in Gambellara, another Vicenza’s leather district, where heavy carpentry and pieces to be assembled for the production of its own models of tannery machines are processed.
Once the works are completed, the total area will cover a surface of over 9,200 square meters; the rationalization of the work areas and space distribution are inspired by the Lean logic, better known as the “Toyota method”, which ensures great improvements of the production cycles through the organizational methods developed from this management system. “For several years we have been dreaming about the enlargement of the main office, – states the president Mauro Bergozza – the project came true as we purchased the land at the end of 2017 and started to build in mid-2019. At the end of September this year the roofing was completed and now the works are going on inside. Currently the assembly takes place in the 3,500 sq. headquarters, also housing offices and the executive department, while the carpentry is largely carried out off-site by two contractors who are long-year collaborators. In addition, an underground garage featuring 23 parking lots has been created in the new plant: this, together with 14 outdoor lots, will put an end to the lack of parking for employees and customers.”
Mauro Bergozza
In terms of logistics, what does the renovation consist of? “In the new factory we will move the assembly departments and 900 square meters will be destined to the administrative and commercial offices. The technical, production and after-sales offices will remain where they are. The existing building will be run under a more efficient management and will host the technical assistance department; the warehouse will be enlarged and will go through an automatization process. The two buildings will be joined together with a large cover that will allow for indoor loading-unloading operations. The containers will be loaded outside the work area, increasing safety for other operators. The new plant will be divided into assembly islands. Each of them provides for the space occupied by the machine and the related components to be assembled. In this way, optimizing the machine components supply, a greater efficiency and productivity will be ensured, as well as a consequent reduction of costs and delivery times.”
What is BERGI’s commitment to the environment? “The technical department is setting up the ‘green plate’ for all the machines we produce, in line with the sustainability project that we have been carrying out for some time and that we want to improve. The new warehouse was built according to the most modern criteria in “green” key and, once completed, it will feature solar panels and a water recovery system capable of guaranteeing a high percentage of self-sustainability. The goal is to record the CO2 produced and that we will be able to counterweight, transforming it into a money-saving. We are also joining a project in the valley, in the district of Arzignano, called “Bike to work”, which provides economic aid to workers who come to work by bicycle, both normal and assisted pedaling. This project aims at reducing the number of cars during rush hours, fine dusts, smog and noise. In the new underground car park there will be an area dedicated to bicycles and charging points for the semi-electric ones.”
How is the Covid-19 pandemic affecting your business? “Apart from the lockdown period, until the end of September we worked pretty well, eight hours a day as usual: in August, to preserve the orders, we took one more week off. However, the shortage of new demands after the summer holidays caused a reduction of the order book as weeks went by. Despite having existing orders that will guarantee us to work until January, at the end of the year we’ll record an evident turnover decrease, given the impossibility of physically covering the production of the twomonth spring shutdown. If orders of machines do not increase in the last months of the year, 2021 promises to be more difficult than the current one. The main problems are linked to the general uncertainty worldwide and to the difficulty in moving people and goods to and from abroad. We work with tanneries all over the world, with an export quota above 70% and we manufacture high-end, therefore expensive, machinery and technology. This penalizes us because our customers are unwilling to make new investments: until the recovery is really tangible, they will use the machinery they have, increasing its maintenance if necessary.”
What are the major unknowns from a commercial point of view? “Let’s say that maybe we were too well accustomed as we registered 5-6 months-deadline orders, a perfect time to let us get and processing the material to be assembled. If this order will come with a 3-4 months deadline, we could face construction difficulties. A consequence may be an increase of the warehouse cost due to the need to stock up in advance great quantities of single pieces necessary for the construction of different machines, however without having a precise idea of the future demands of the market. When the global market will recover and the tanneries’ machinery will become obsolete, the risk will be to have a “today for tomorrow” request; that will be a different problem to manage because it takes months to produce some machines.” www.bergi.com