Italprogetti Spa conquers the 2023 ranking (relative to 2021) for ‘export champions’ as compiled by Statista and Il Sole 24 Ore, positioned among the top 250 Made in Italy SMEs highlighting their presence on international markets
With an export share of 59.13%, Italprogetti Spa – a leader in the production of plants and machinery for the tanning and waste water treatment industries – is 180th in the 2023 ranking of companies reported by Statista that in 2021 have made a name for themselves beyond borders thanks to the excellence that distinguishes Made in Italy worldwide. The San Romano (Pisa) company has pursued an important commercial policy since its foundation in the 1970s, investing significantly in developing countries. The winning strategy has always been to identify areas of operation after careful market analysis, each time activating the procedures best suited to the individual country.
Spokesman for a company philosophy centred on a culture of innovation and sustainability, Italprogetti president Mario Serrini reveals his recipe for success.
Engineer Serrini, in the 2023 ranking of the 250 Italian manufacturing companies with the highest export rate (recorded in 2021), prepared by Statista and Il Sole 24 Ore, Italprogetti’s name also stands out. What is your position and what does such recognition mean for you?
It certainly gives us great pleasure to be among the top 250 Italian companies with the highest percentage of export turnover. Italprogetti was established in 1977 and I remember that we participated in the Semaine du Cuir in Paris as early as 1978, and began marketing our products worldwide. Today we export to more than 90 countries on different continents. We have been working with some clients for more than forty years and a deep relationship of trust and friendship has been established. For us, travelling and having an efficient sales department is the norm. Our target has always been to achieve an export percentage of at least 50 per cent of turnover.
What is the recipe for making a name for yourself across borders?
We Italians are very good at designing and creating customised products. In many industrial sectors, in all countries of the world, there is a huge demand for non-production products, be it machinery or industrial plants. Once the demand is identified, it is necessary and sufficient to understand the client’s requirements and provide them with what they need. Seriousness and competence are the ingredients that enable the company to work, earn and grow. It is a small world, industrialists in the same sector, even from different countries, usually know each other: positive word of mouth is the best advertising. I forgot: the main ingredient of the recipe is to select and motivate qualified, capable and hardworking staff. Finding employees with these characteristics is the biggest problem today.
What is the incidence of exports on turnover and what are your main markets in terms of export share?
As I have already mentioned, the impact of exports on the turnover of Italprogetti has always been over 50%. Very important orders – for example supplies of turnkey plants to foreign countries – can bring the export share even above 70%. In 2022, the export percentage dropped to compensate for the strong increase in demand in Italy following the expansion of the Industry 4.0 incentives, confirmed by the Budget Law 2022.
We can say that the world is our market. We have supplied major facilities in every part of the globe, from Russia to China, from India to Japan, from the United States to all of South America and numerous African countries including Egypt. We hold customers throughout Europe and England, and even in Australia and New Zealand. Our products have reached countries such as Iceland, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Iraq, to mention others.
To gain acceptance abroad today you have to focus on the megatrend of sustainability. What are your strengths in this regard?
Designing well and building facilities in a serious manner cannot be separated from the concept of sustainability. Today, sustainability is explicitly demanded. Our company has always adopted sustainable design criteria and certainly the need for sustainability has not found us unprepared. For forty years now, Italprogetti has been designing and building plants for water and air purification and, for the past decade, also for the food industry: all types of plants that require a sustainable path. Ultimately, I would say that in order to gain acceptance abroad, it is essential to work well and gain a good reputation. It is not possible to work well if not with sustainable criteria. It was not without reason that Italprogetti has been included in the Champions of ItalyPost, the ranking of the 1,000 best-performing Italian companies (in terms of economic performance, growth, etc.), developed in collaboration with Corriere della Sera, since the initiative’s inception.
Mario Serrini Italprogetti’s President
A group shot of Italprogetti staff
The Le Capanne factory
An interior of the Italprogetti plant