Following the agreement with Finikem, which became operational on January 1, 2023,the results of the first half of this year for FGL International are positive. New products previewed at ProssimaPelle will be exhibited at Tanning Tech in Milan
It is an important year for FGL International, another Tuscan company that played a leading role at the pre-summer edition of ProssimaPelle, where it presented a new collection that certainly attracted tanning entrepreneurs, technicians and visitors to the exhibition hosted at Villa Cerini. As of January 1st of this year, the merger between FGL International and Finikem, both based in Castelfranco di Sotto (Pisa), became a single reality. The two tanning chemical companies, which are part of the Tuscan holding company Lapi Group, have developed a strategic path of unification, which has allowed them to integrate the activities of the two companies, which are increasingly perceived on the market as unique and complementary: the first deals with products for the wet phase of leather processing, while the second deals with finishing solutions. However, the merger has left the two brands unaltered, which therefore continue to carry on both product lines, one for wet-end and one for finishing, all with a view to continuity and optimised business management.
The ProssimaPelle event, held at the end of June, provided an opportunity to meet with FGL International’s top management and technicians, with whom it was possible to outline an initial balance sheet six months after the important merger agreement and to analyse future prospects. “The merger between FGL and Finikem,” Fabrizio Ugolini, Managing Director, and the other managers of the company told us, “is bringing us excellent results, especially in terms of the overall service level that we are now able to guarantee to our customers, in particular the tanneries, which are present not only in the Italian market but also worldwide. There is no doubt that the merger is bringing positive results both in terms of the image of the Group and the operating results. As far as research and development operations are concerned, we, like other competitors, are focused on innovation for sustainability, therefore on an increasingly ‘green’ chemistry, and in fact we are working seriously on all that is related to sustainability and product innovation”.
The unstable economic moment does not seem to alarm those who are carrying out the projects and industrial plan of the Castelfranco industry. “The current moment is not thriving for anyone, no denying that, as there is less demand for products from the markets. However, as FGL International we cannot complain, as the results are proving us right. We are particularly happy with the work we have done, but we are also confident about the rest of this year and the next ones that await us. Numbers in hand, we can grow both in Italy and abroad: even after the merger, the export value was around 50 per cent, which was basically our standard in previous years. In Italy, we are very well established in the tanning districts of Arzignano, Santa Croce and Solofra, while as far as foreign markets are concerned, we range internationally in all areas of the world, from the Far East to Latin America, passing through Europe of course”.
The collection, previewed at ProssimaPelle, will also be presented in the second half of September at the Tanning Tech trade fair in Milan, where FGL International has guaranteed its presence as an exhibitor. “There will be further novelties at the fashion level,” concludes Managing Director Fabrizio Ugolini, “but also at the technical level, since some rather innovative articles will be presented. We do not hide the fact that we expect a lot from this trade fair, also in terms of the arrival of foreign operators, as we believe that Tanning Tech and Lineapelle represent, together with Hong Kong, the most important trade fairs in the sector at an international level”.