TACCHIFICIO MONTI’s new plant is based in Marzabotto, surrounded by a beautiful landscape. An example of integrated project carried out in full compliance with environmental safeguard and energy saving requirements.
Renowned family-run business specialized in the manufacturing of heels, soles and accessories for women’s shoes, designed for the most prominent fashion brands, Tacchificio Monti has changed its premises. The new facility features over ten thousand square meters, divided between the offices and the production plant, based in Marzabotto (Bologna province), and it has utterly revolutionized work organization and the relation with the surrounding environment. Wide, bright, functional spaces. “This decision has resulted in a marked improvement in terms of efficiency, employees’ wellbeing as well as of corporate image,” explained Lara Monti, third generation together with her cousin Gabriele, Elisa (accounting department) and Emanuela (soles division). Fully active since last December, the location overlooking the Reno river valley kicked off 2020 in a positive way; yet, the events concerning Covid-19 outbreak now call for more caution and attention.
Gabriele Monti, can you tell us more about the firm’s foundation? Tacchificio Monti was established in 1960, in the historic headquarters located in Sibano, founded by my grandfather Giuseppe, later taken over by my father and uncle Nando. It was the classic “neighbourhood factory”, just like many other in the post-war period, where even the members of the third generation took their first steps until the turning point. Over the years, several new parts were added to the initial facility, up until we realized that we were building a sort of beehive made up of many cells. Things got more complicated, communication and logistics as well. Without losing faith in our work, we understood that the times were ripe to “reset” and to initiate a change aimed at enhancing our company.
The opening of the new production site based in Marzabotto has marked a pivotal period in the corporate history. The facility is located in the area of the former paper factory Reno De Medici. The construction started in 2017, even though the design phase dated way back. In two years, we completed – on a building surface amounting to thirty-three thousand square meters, owned by our firm – the production plants, for a total nine thousand square meters, the office premises, more than one thousand square meters, and the adjoining outdoor spaces. We moved to the new headquarters at the end of August 2019, while the relocation of the bottoms department ended in December. From May 4th, after the lockdown, we are fully operational, in full compliance with the regulations set by the government in order to protect the health of employees, customers and suppliers.
What ate the distinctive traits of the new production plant? We have updated the whole plant design, from a mechanical as well as from an electrical point of view. We manage to produce both electricity and thermal energy on our own thanks to methane gas cogeneration technology, thus fulfilling the plant’s requirements in order to carry out manufacturing processes; furthermore, to warm up and cool up spaces, we use high-efficiency radiant panels and controlled ventilation systems. Natural light is the true protagonist, especially on the side overlooking the badlands, true masterpieces. The project perfectly integrates with the surrounding environment, the plant is easily accessible not only by car, but also via cycle lane and the train station close by.
Have you chosen to invest in machinery and equipment innovation as well? The most significant investment concerns the Miniload warehouse, an automatic storage system for containers that guarantees an updated inventory in real time. It is provided with a 75-meter-long monorail, featuring shelves on both sides, seven meter high, while a stacker crane carries out the required operations to get the crates containing the moulds, left-over stock and all the details used for the heels: in total, four thousand plastic boxes and as many metal ones, in addition to at least two thousand cells designed to handle soles’ moulds. The benefits, in terms of space optimization, storage capacity, productivity increase, order and cleanliness, are striking.
What is your commitment concerning the development of low-impact products? We are bent on optimizing in-house recycling activities and our goal is to certify the output of said process. We manage to recover virgin raw materials’ processing waste and to re-introduce them in the production cycle in variable percentages. A policy that fosters circular economy and an efficient use of resources, aimed at significantly reduce the environmental impact. We recycle ABS, TR and TPU scraps: we are still able to get the required colours, with the exception of TPU, as the latter can be re-used only in black. Moreover, we are carrying out tests in order to perform metallization treatments on regenerated products. www.tacchificiomonti.com
