Cornaglia Group

PROVIDING LEADING EDGE TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE SPACE

CORNAGLIA GROUP

An Italian

Legacy Amidst significant investment, family-owned manufacturing company Cornaglia is seeking expansion and growth at scale Writer: Sean Galea-Pace | Project Manager: Matthew Taylor

C

ornaglia is steeped in family history and heritage.

Today, the organisation develops leading edge technological solutions for the automotive world and is regarded as one of the most influential Italian components companies, supplying the most prestigious clients on the European market.

The firm initially began operations in the sheet metal pressing industry.

In the years that followed, output expanded significantly and Cornaglia now consists of four large divisions: Sheet Metal Components Division, Plastic Components Division, Exhaust System Division, and Filter Division.

Pier Antonio Cornaglia is the Sales and Marketing Director at the organisation. His great grandfather founded the company, his grandfather built it, and his father and uncle created the modern day Cornaglia.

“The company has always been a

2 | EME Outlook issue 40

Pier Antonio Cornaglia, Sales and Marketing Director

part of our family,” he says. “And my own journey is interesting. I started on the shop floor and I worked with shift leaders and I went through every department of the company, from admin to quality to buyer to commercial and so on. I then had an opportunity to become the Director General at our Torino plant before stepping into my current role as the Group Sales and Marketing Director.”

Despite enjoying such a rich family history, the company has realised the importance of tweaking that culture and has recently implemented a new management structure which has led to a new Managing Director, Stefano Cassis.

Under Cassis’s leadership, Cornaglia has recently appointed a Supply Chain and Purchasing Manager for the first time in the company’s history. It’s a move which Pier Antonio admits has been vital.

MANUFACTURING

EME Outlook issue 40 | 3

CORNAGLIA GROUP

Microfound Microfound is a leading supplier of investment casting in industrial sector, with a manufacturing plant in Italy and an Asian sourcing network.

With professionalism, quality and services the company casts small and large series of complex components in steel and special alloys, from few grams to 25 kg.

The production flexibility and the wide range of services make Microfound a reliable partner, able to follow and develop every phase of the project together with the customer: cast engineering, prototyping, surface treatments and finishes, precision machining and controls.

T +39 0522 246611 E mfound@microfound.it www.microfound.it

Umberto, Roberta, Pier Mario Cornaglia

“Previously, my father and uncle always managed it themselves,” he says. “However, Mr. Cassis drew our attention to the need of a dedicated person to fill that role because ultimately, our most important partners are our suppliers. We go through them with raw material and it has become an essential part of our operations over the past two years.”

Pier Antonio is well aware of

CORNAGLIA’S BUSINESS UNITS - Metal - Plastic - Exhaust Cor-Tubi - Filtration Cor-Filters - Research and Development

4 | EME Outlook issue 40

what sets his company apart from competitors.

“We have a very different portfolio from our competitors,” he explains.

“We’ve taken every opportunity that has come our way and operate with a very flexible approach that can easily adapt to any circumstance.”

Despite significant global disruption as a result of COVID-19, Pier Antonio is quick to point out that Cornaglia mitigated the financial impact due to his family’s long-lasting management style.

“We were deeply impacted in terms of turnover but due to our strength in terms of financial numbers, we have kept investing,” he explains.

“My family has never taken any dividends out of the company.

Everything the company has earned has always been reinvested back into the organisation or set aside for bad times. That is traditionally an old management style but has really helped us during difficult times.

Labium Srl Labium was formed in 2016, with the aim to create a company capable of designing and manufacturing coldpressed parts made of sheet metal, steel and aluminium.

Special attention will be paid to the design and production of printed items called heat shields, designed to protect sensitive areas inside machinery from high temperatures.

The company is located in Bruino (Turin, Italy), it aims to follow the costumer from the beginning of the project, studying in co-design, the best solutions to meet the required characteristics and trying to optimise the cost for the equipment and production.

Marco Brondino E: direzione@labiumsrl.com www.labiumsrl.com

MANUFACTURING

Via Avogadro 30/32/34 10090, Bruino (TO) Tel: +39 011 2421351

ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS FOR THERMAL AND ACOUSTIC INSULATION • SINGLE / DOUBLE LAYER IN STEEL ( 1.4301 - 1.4828 - 1.4541 ) • SINGLE / DOUBLE LAYER IN ALUMINIUM (AW 1050 - AW 6016 - AW5754) • THE CREATION OF INTEGRAL INSULATION FOR PIPES, PRIMARILY FOR THE INDUSTRIAL FIELD.

EME Outlook issue 40 | 5

CORNAGLIA GROUP “Luckily, we were allowed to continue working despite a substantial reduction in orders.”

And Cornaglia is showing no signs of slowing down. The organisation has recently acquired a new complete stamping line and increased its production capacity not only in quantitative terms but also and

above all, its quality terms. In fact, the new plant, which will be based in Poland, will provide performance of absolute excellence which enables the production of complex parts, while also ensuring the maximum efficiency during stamping and line setup operations. The investment is set to cost around €20 million in total.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CORNAGLIA In 1916, Cornaglia was born under the name of Officine Metallurgiche Giletta when 39-year-old Giuseppe Cornaglia from Fossano, who had moved to Turin 10 years previously, became a member. The firm dealt with sheet metal processing and trading, while its factory was located in Corso Regina Margherita.

In 1921, a serious fire destroyed the factory in Corso Regina Margherita and production moved to Corso Racconigi. During the 1920s and 1930s, Giuseppe Cornaglia’s role within the company became increasingly prominent. In 1937, he took over the company and introduced his son Pier Antonio, who was 16 at the time, into the organisation.

In the 1960s, the economic boom arrived. Consumption and well-being grew, in tandem with Cornaglia. The following year, the Beinasco plant was built, while Cortubi was created in 1967. The new brand of exhaust systems for cars and trucks reflected the company’s need for diversification, which in this decade also meant a dive into the foreign market.

The 1970s saw a new generation of Cornaglia rise to the fore. Eng. Pier Mario and his brother Umberto provided different managerial styles and approaches and were both central in the growth of the family business.

As a result of the car crisis in the 1980s, Cornaglia realised the importance of diversifying. At the same time, Cornaglia also entered the after market area with a complete line of export-orientated car clutches. The first initiative took place in 1982, with the creations of Cortubi Sud. In 1986, the roof of the Cortubi plant collapsed as a result of significant snowfall. Luckily, the collapse happened during a shift change and resulted in no casualties.

With hard work on the part of the family and employees, production didn’t stop and just a month later a new warehouse was built.

In 2001, the rationalisation plan for the plants, with the creation of the plastics division. The three molding systems are concentrated in the Villarbasse factory, rotational, blow molding and injection molding. At the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, the first foreign units of the group were built.

Today, the company continues to grow through investments and its partnerships in various countries across the world and is seen as one of the most renowned Italian components companies.

6 | EME Outlook issue 40

MANUFACTURING

COR-FILTER FILTRATION BU has a complementary role to the other factories in the Group. The Research Centre designs products according to specific customer needs, patent. In this market sector, Cornaglia works on the design of components that anticipate three or four years the construction of the vehicle for which they are planned EME Outlook issue 40 | 7

CORNAGLIA GROUP Investments are a key component of Cornaglia’s strategy. Indeed, the firm invests between €7-10 million in new equipment every year. Pier Antonio believes that the launch of the Poland plant, despite a COVID year, will provide a springboard for success.

“It’s been our biggest investment of all time as a company,” he affirms.

“But our previous plant was much too small and we believe it will massively benefit us in the long-term.”

“These launches have meant that Cornaglia is still believing in itself

BU / PLASTIC. This recently developed technology, of which Cornaglia is among the European leaders, has allowed the replacement of rubber parts inside engine compartments with substantial savings in terms of costs and weight

8 | EME Outlook issue 40

and its development. Research and development centres are central to what we do. We’ve also opened two new centres, one in 2018 and one in 2020, which are based in India and Turkey. This allows us to get competencies in those countries and have reductions in costs within those countries.”

The company is continuously striving to reduce its environmental impact connected to its activities and the risks to the health and safety of its workers. With sustainability firmly at the forefront of Cornaglia’s thoughts,

the organisation is developing and applying an integrated environment and safety management system for all companies, in compliance with regulation standards.

Cornaglia owns five photovoltaic plants, managed by PVUG, installed on the roofs of as many industrial plants for a total of approximately 3.7 megawatts (MW) of installed power.

These plants produce about four million kilowatts (kWh) annually of clean energy avoiding the emission of 1,600 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year.

MANUFACTURING

EXHAUST COR-TUBI. This busines unit is divided in specialised smaller units/departments to increase efficiency and cut down costs and time. Some of these specialise in pipe manufacture, (cut, drilling, bending and deformation of pipes in normal and inox steel, 40 to 150 mm diam.) and are assigned to the assembly of internal components such as mufflers through to sertissage and robotised welding In order to reduce energy consumption and waste, interventions were carried out on machines, and automatic standby has been installed which is activated after a predetermined period of inactivity.

“We value sustainability and are always searching for ways to do more,” says Pier Antonio. “We have solar panel installation in all our plants, we use in-house treatment for the wastewater and have implemented new LED panels. We don’t waste or scrap any materials either.”

With 2021 well underway, Pier Antonio is optimistic about what the future could hold over the next couple of years.

“This year has already started really well in terms of orders and our forecast is almost too good to be true,” he explains.

“I hope this will continue for the rest of the year, but it is also important to remember that most of our products are in the startup phases. Over the next two or three years, I believe we will be very solid. We’ve began to expand

in Brazil and India which allows us to be robust in the market and we’re in a good position to push forward.

“We know there’s an opportunity and we’re ready to take it.”

Tel. 011/3491311 commerciale.lamiera@cornaglia.com www.cornaglia.com

EME Outlook issue 40 | 9

CORNAGLIA GROUP Strada Mirafiori N ° 31, 10092 Beinasco (TO) Tel. 011/3491311 commerciale.lamiera@cornaglia.com www.cornaglia.com PRODUCED BY EME OUTLOOK MAGAZINE