Electronics is the route down which Gpe Ardenghi – a leading name in the manufacture of high-precision screen-printing machinery – is sending its business in the coming years, starting now. If we are to take anything positive from the pandemic, it’s that these past months in lockdown have given us valuable time to innovative and look for new opportunities for growth.
The company from Treviglio is a case in point: since 1945, they have been providing customers around the globe with cutting-edge machinery that has consistently kept up with the times, even when those times are as turbulent as they are now.
As CEO Roberto Ardenghi explains, “The decision to go down the electronics route was practically a no-brainer. Companies have a growing need for flexibility: plants have to be able to adapt to an increasingly extensive range of products, because those same products have a short life and the market is flooded with an endless stream of new products. Electronics offers customers this option, where mechanical solutions fall short, while giving us the opportunity to increase our know-how“.
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
Considerable efforts have been channelled into R&D, especially in the early months of 2021: “During the first phase of the pandemic, we continued to work on orders taken over the preceding months – Ardenghi tells us – the toughest period was from January to April 2021. This is when we started focusing on developing new kinds of machinery and perfecting our offering, making it more modern and appealing, but without turning our backs on our tradition: Gpe Ardenghi still belongs to the engineering sector, but that doesn’t mean we want to turn a blind eye to innovation that can give us the opportunity to improve as purveyors of bespoke screen-printing solutions, tailoring each machine to suit the individual customer“.
WHEN PEOPLE ARE ASSETS
It’s not just a question of market, but employment, too: with the new machinery, Gpe Ardenghi have added new members to their staff: “Skilled, specialized people that we’ve brought into the company and who are allowing us to continue our evolution” as the owner points out. “This also falls into the asset and value-added category.”
The fruits of the work put in over these past months will soon be on display at the upcoming shows: in Dubai in December, then in January in the US, and in March in Bologna. An event-packed calendar that marks a recovery in the market and in companies’ international business: “At Cosmopack, we’ll be presenting a fully electronic machine capable of printing on odd-shaped objects. A sensor will be used to detect the outline of the object, which can then be printed all over” Ardenghi tells us without giving too much away. “2022 is going to be all about increasingly bold technology and new offerings, especially in the cosmetic industry.”