COVER STORY
An unswerving dedication to manufacturing perfection For SACMA Group this has been a summer of looking to the future – which is far from unusual for a company, long committed to occupy the leading edge in fastener manufacturing technology – and looking back, with a mixture of sorrow but also intense pride.
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939 witnessed the foundation of SACMA Limbiate as a small manufacturing business, the brainchild of engineer Valeriano Rampezzotti. It also saw the birth of Mr Rampezzotti’s son, Giancarlo who, having worked closely with his father, took the helm in the 1960s and was largely responsible for the adoption of new concepts in production and machine assembly, which drove accelerated growth in SACMA’s fortunes and reputation in the field of fastener manufacturing machinery.
È stato e resterà un esempio per tutti noi.” (He set an example for us all) 46 FASTENER + FIXING MAGAZINE // ISSUE 107 SEPTEMBER 2017
On 17 th May 2017 Giancarlo Rampezzotti (pictured) passed away, inevitably causing widespread sorrow amongst his relatives but also the wider family of the SACMA Group. Mixed with that sorrow, however, is an evidently profound pride in the passion that engineered the transition from a small workshop, manufacturing marine outboard engines, to global leadership in cold forming and thread rolling technologies. During the 1950s, SACMA developed its first machine for manufacturing woodscrews. It also, extraordinarily, designed and manufactured an economical car, eventually purchased by an automotive group abroad. Into the 1960s, SACMA started committing strongly to the production of machines for manufacturing fasteners, and deepened its roots in the city of Limbiate, close to Milan. Today, all the components to build the SACMA machines are manufactured in-house, ensuring total control of the quality of all the parts. There are three different plants, all belonging to SACMA Group – the impressive main cold former plant in Limbiate; the OBM plant at Vimercate, which concentrates on the manufacturing of the smaller parts; and at Castelnuovo Scrivia, where the Ingramatic thread rollers are assembled. A fascinating tour of the SACMA facility is to immediately comprehend two of the core principles Giancarlo Rampezzotti instilled in SACMA. First is the direct and complete control of the manufacture and assembly of its machines from the receipt of the core castings through to final commissioning to fulfil the customers’ exact requirements. The second is the continuous investment in technology and in a skilled workforce, even in the difficult market conditions. Underlying both is what SACMA Group Commercial Director Enrico Brigatti describes as “an unswerving dedication to manufacturing perfection” – part of the shining example set by Giancarlo Rampezzotti to which, without question, the next generation of SACMA management is wholly committed. President and son to Giancarlo,