Vladimiro Fratini, Sales Director Fainplast
A bet that has been won: Fainplast has enlarged the production of compounds for the footwear sector, getting excellent results. The company now focuses on the evolution of the EVA.
Fainplast, company led by Battista Faraotti and based in the Marche region, boasts a successful story, according to stunning numbers. Founded in 1993 in Assisi, the firm starts its business in a 4,000 sqm shed; today, after the enlargement carried out in 2018, it features a surface of 85,000 sqm, more than 80 storage silos and 20 production lines in the new plant in Ascoli Piceno. The turnover reflects this growth: since 2000, it has been increasing, reaching a record of 145 million in 2019.
“Last year we got extraordinary results as well” confirms the Sales Director Vladimiro Fratini, “we have registered a +20% in new customers from the footwear sector, although we must admit that it’s quite easy to make these numbers at the very beginning, with a small market share.” As a matter of fact, footwear represents “only” 15% of the whole turnover of the company, specialized in the production of compounds for several sectors, above all for the production of electrical cables. In the footwear sector, Fainplast offers EVA and PVC compounds that are used in the molding of soles, midsoles, slippers and other items.
A sector that is worth to be explored; that’s why at Simac, Fainplast launched important innovations, as reported by Fratini.
“We have expanded our range of compounds towards ‘supersoft’ products and we are developing a new material, a variant of the EVA, which aims at guaranteeing greater comfort and softness. As the name suggests, the supersoft products are very smooth, but they also ensure low thermo-shrinkage, a specific feature of the EVA. Actually, this material has a problem, so to speak: the more its hardness decreases, the more the thermo-shrinking increases; basically, the product has poor dimensional stability when exposed to high temperatures.
Our compounds, on the contrary, shrink less even if they’re very soft. This is a huge advantage in the processing because it reduces risks when the hardness gets lower. We have chosen to follow this path according to the specific needs of the customers, who look for a material which is more similar to rubber, featuring a greater softness and quality to the touch.”
The footwear sector is a challenge for Fainplast, an evolution of the business is usually focused on other industrial sectors: “Footwear products represent a relatively small slice for us, around 10-15% of the turnover. We are mainly involved in the production of compounds for electrical cables, that of footwear, is one of our youngest divisions. We strongly believe in this sector, we also increased our production capacity last year and we are constantly investing in research.
Research and innovation are very important for us, they’re essential features in order to grow. Every year our turnover increased compared to the previous one – except 2009. If we did not invest in R&D, we would not be able to make these numbers.”
Numbers that are possible thanks to a clientele that has responded positively to the company’s proposals: “Even if we have a wide foreign clientele, we work more in Italy: at the very beginning we addressed to the national market so we’re kind of more linked to that for ‘historical’ reasons.
We have a quite diversified clientele and we can rank many great companies and luxury brands among our most loyal customers.”
What role does the sustainability play in the growth of Fainplast’s turnover deriving from footwear? “Without a doubt, there has been an increase in the demand for sustainable materials, we are working on it and we are adjusting our production cycles.
We are currently working on the search for EVA recycling methods; we have also developed a bio-based product that uses polymers derived from biomass.”
www.fainplast.com