At Simac Tanning Tech, the Swiss HÜNI GROUP, which has been in the industry since 1728, unveiled a unique model that continues to represent the “flagship” of the range
Although it has been in production for several years, the PPH Premium Jumbo model continues to represent the “ flagship” model of the HÜNI GROUP, the world’s leading drum manufacturer. The Swiss industry, with headquarters in Horgen, near Zurich, and an Italian branch in San Miniato (Pistoia province), represents by far one of the oldest tanneries in the world given that it has been operating in the industry for nearly 300 years, with the foundation dating back to 1728. The Swiss industry is the undisputed international leader in the sale of drums, the activity of which began in the 1970s: after enormous success and hundreds of pieces sold in a few years, the production of wooden drums began in 1988., while in 2003. the era of plastic ones started. Currently, HÜNI GROUP, which is present at Simac Tanning Tech, also retains this leadership in terms of the control process, patents and technology used.
“The Jumbo PPH drum has been in production for several years,” Peter Mastelic, president & CEO of the group, who we interviewed at the Milan Fair stand, confirmed, “but it continues to remain our excellence, which we continue to sell best of all and is always the star at the fairs where we exhibit. This success is also motivated by the fact that our company is the only one in the world that produces a drum consisting of a single piece: looking at it carefully, it is immediately clear that there are no reinforcements or welds it is one big “tube,” which guarantees much higher durability All our competitors, who also process polypropylene, are unable to launch this type of drum in the market, which at an absolute level represents the “top” of the range. It continues to be in demand all over the world, only right to be the star in our fairs. Compared to previous years, there have been no additional updates, confirming that this is a very well-designed drum, which provides a lot of satisfaction to the customers who use it. For other products in our range, we also prefer to showcase our proven and successful models: in the case of the HÜNI filter, which has been present for more than 20 years.”
With the president and CEO of the Swiss group, we also discussed marketrelated issues in light of what we saw during the Milan exhibition. “These days of the fair,” Mastelic’s opinion, “that China is ‘still closed,’ but even in the rest of Asia, it is difficult to operate, given the difficulty of travel. On the other hand, in this period we are working a lot throughout Europe, while currently, a big market is the entire American continent, particularly the United States and South America, although in Brazil we are struggling to get out of the stand-by situation. Remaining with the American continent, a big market for everyone in Mexico, and in recent years we have sold quite a lot of machinery. In Italy we are very present, also given the proximity from Zurich in particular, we work a lot in the two districts of Arzignano and Santa Croce sull’Arno, certainly more in Tuscany also because of the presence of our office in San Miniato.”
The last question concerns the prospects and projects planned for 2023. “At the level of automation,” he concludes, “upgrades and new features are planned, as this is a sector that is always evolving. The area on which we are focusing a lot as a group is digitization, also in this exhibition we have exhibited a “command post” with data exchange, but in the meantime, we have built and deployed a software system, usable worldwide, which has led to the creation of an in-house department. IT digitization is an important branch, in which we are investing significant resources. Our main customers are tanneries, we specialize in all stages of leather tanning, and connection and data exchange are key.”
Peter Mastelic (left) and Dario Mastelic (right)