For over half a century AIRCOM® has been a leader in the sector, as it is able to provide everything necessary for an excellent finish, on any type of material
For more than 50 years AIRCOM® has been designing and manufacturing automatic spray guns for painting on all types of materials, guaranteeing a topquality finish. This is the “business card” of the company based in Castellamonte (Turin) that deals with the design, manufacturing and sale of equipment designed for different application areas, from leather to wood, glass to plastic, up to more particular applications on molds. The core business of the company are automatic guns for industrial painting, produced from certified materials totally made in Italy, also widely used in the tanning sector.
During the Tanning Tech Show at the Milan fair, we had the chance to interview Annapaola Trione, current CEO of AIRCOM®, who told us about this beautiful and winning entrepreneurial story. The company was not among the exhibitors because, according to the owner “Since we do not sell our items to the end user, we avoid hindering those who do this work, there would be an overlap”. So, we met her at the stand of the company Danese, where Aircom is welcome by virtue of a friendship and a commercial partnership that has existed for some time with the owner Maurizio Danese.
“It all started back in 1967, 55 years ago – her words – thanks to the intuition and courage of a tannery worker assigned to spraying, who embarked on the adventure of giving up his job to open his own business. He started from his home garage, where he began to build and design automatic spray guns that at the time were usually bought abroad by Italian entrepreneurs. In the seventies and eighties, there were many tanneries in the north of Turin, that were then gradually closed or moved to other areas. This neo-entrepreneur managed to establish himself and be successful; afterwards, having no heirs, he decided to sell the company, which was bought by my family, precisely by my father, who was already at the helm of another company in the automotive sector.”
What were your business choices to move this business forward?
“We kept on specializing and focusing on automatic guns for spraying and painting on any material. We have done a great job, investing a lot in machinery – especially nowadays, this has to be done quite frequently. Despite the pandemic and other dynamics that have slowed down the world economy in the last two or three years, our company has had a decisive boost in investments: on the one hand, the innovation of machinery, on the other the digital transformation of the production process. In AIRCOM® the growth has occurred, and is still happening, both in terms of machines, aimed at optimizing processing times and reducing consumption and emissions, and in the range of products, meant to offer concrete solutions to meet the needs of different sectors. At the same time, we have developed and sold accessories related to spray guns.”
How is the company structured and what strategies characterize your brand?
“In the AIRCOM® production site, every process goes through never-ending innovation: know-how and professional competence are supported by highprecision and technologically advanced equipment. We stand out because we are able to follow the project from A to Z, and we carry out it all in-house. Each component is innovative and constantly upgraded, featuring a particular attention to technical details and product design: each gun therefore offers high standards efficiency and is carefully designed according to high aesthetic levels. Regarding future strategies, in addition to tanneries, we are focusing a lot on many other sectors. Our customers are basically the manufacturers of spray systems or the sellers who export abroad. Undoubtedly, we have carried out a good job in the tanning sector, everybody knows us, that’s why we are expanding to grow in other sectors.”
How quality of AIRCOM® products is guaranteed?
“Our automatic spray guns are designed, manufactured and assembled inhouse, starting from 100% made in Italy certified materials. Our designers go to see the systems they are working on, to make sure of every detail. Quite frequently we prepare customized systems, which are advantageous compared to the same product quality and quantity. A couple of years ago, together with Barnini, we developed an exclusive project for a gun by signing a partnership for a specific product that had been required. Innovation and creativity are two essential pillars for designing and manufacturing safe and reliable products: this is one of our secrets.”
What have been the news in 2022 and how is the market going?
“This year we have designed and developed, again with Barnini, new accessories connected to the guns, while other models launched cover different sectors. According to orders, we are satisfied, they will let us work for the next semester, which is more than we are able to carry out. We are also waiting for a new machine that we have acquired; unfortunately, due to the difficult moment linked to the components supply, it’s late in coming.”
What is your sustainability commitment focused on?
“For several years we have been carrying out a great work, on which we invested a lot. In particular, we are trying to certify our products, which have already passed the transfer efficiency test, from a certification body in Germany, Overspray, and others. The main goal is to achieve the certification of the entire work cycle, therefore from design to the finished product, also including the duration of time. All this means less consumptions and a better choice of materials in the design phase – our raw materials are already all recyclable. This is a noteworthy goal for AIRCOM®: often many words are said but facts are different. We truly believe that we can achieve the target.”
Annapaola Trione at Danese’s stand