At Simac Tanning Tech, Rotacoat, a company headquartered in Tuscany and operating out of Montebello Vicentino (Vicenza), showcased a ground-breaking model. The importance of collaboration with Barnini
It was a ‘trump card’ that Rotacoat, a company whose design studio is located in Santa Croce sull’Arno and operational headquarters are in Montebello Vicentino (Vicenza), launched on the ‘gaming table’ of Simac Tanning Tech, hosted last September in Milan. The innovative start- up was founded in 2019 and is specialized in the production of roller finishing machines that are the result of a pioneering approach.
“At this edition,” Massimo Valente, Sales Director of Rotacoat, told us at his stand, “we presented the latest version of the J1 3400 roller coating machine, a ground-breaking, fully automated machine, whose functions are all motorized and programmable. We are talking about a top-of-the-range machine, perfected over time on the basis of market requirements, with a working width of 3,400 mm, i.e. for whole hides. However, due to its very high productivity, it is also used for half splits and smaller hides, such as calves – it bears up to 4 pieces on the belt. Our company has been producing machines since the end of 2019, while the J1 3400 buffing machine was born the year after, because we started with the intermediate model of 2,400 mm: we have sold many of them, in Italy and worldwide, almost all to large industries and multinationals. Due to its high technology, we believe it will be a winning card for a long time.”
At the stand, the Barnini brand is clearly highlighted “it represents,” Valente resumes, “our ‘cradle’, as Rotacoat was born from a partnership between myself and the third generation of the Barnini family, namely brothers Lorenzo and Matteo Simoni. It is our point of reference, we produce the machines in Santa Croce sull’Arno, in collaboration with Barnini, which features a model structure in terms of warehousing, offers basic products and provides the final assembly: for us it is a strategic agreement at industrial level, as starting from the raw material such as steel rollers and sheet metal, they provide us with the structure of the machine, guaranteeing us complete finishing lines ranging from the roller machine to the spray booth and up to the ironing or printing press. In addition, Barnini is a valuable supplier as it offers an incredible machine tool department, superior to all, allowing us to be competitive at a high level of quality. The same family, represented by very ambitious young people, is now introducing into the market robotization, which is the big news this year. These robots, which are absolutely innovative for the sector, have already been installed in some companies, specifically one in the automotive sector, perhaps the most demanding: they will soon be used in finishing lines, both ours and those of other manufacturers.”
Satisfying results for the 2023 exhibition. “In terms of attendance, it was a pleasant return to the past, to the years before 2020. This sign means that the market is restarting, the exhibition often anticipates the market, so it is a good omen for 2024, where the restart should continue, a sort of long wave after having definitively come out of Covid.”
“As Rotacoat we will end 2023 absolutely positively,” concludes the Sales Director of Rotacoat. “What we were unable to achieve in terms of turnover with tannery machines, we have made up for with the Service: that’s a new service center based in Montebello Vicentino that has allowed us to make up the gap, but above all to maintain the relationship with our customers. The service center, which is able to give you the ‘pulse of the market’, was also a request from clients and in the end, it turned out to be a strategic investment. Many companies, perhaps more structured and with higher costs, delegate the customer service to external groups, but we prefer to maintain direct contact with customers, both for reasons of internal organization and general mindset.”