'With every new machine, we introduce a new kind of solution'

Italmec has become a leading name in industrial material handling in the Middle East

Very few European groups have earned as much goodwill in a short time in the region as Italmec Group. The Group is firmly established in Dubai and specialises in custom-made quality pneumatic manipulators and tailored devices that enable lifting, rotating and handling heavy products in weightless manner. Most of the solutions delivered by Italmec are unique owing to its highly qualified technical staff.

Industrial Manipulators Dalmec offers smart and ergonomic solutions that are able to lift loads of up to 1,500 kg in a virtually weightless manner. The systems are designed to allow material handling solutions in all industrial sectors with utmost precision, flexibility and  safety at each step.

Detailing his Group's strategic plans and importance of Dubai as a business hub, Federico Cellini, Managing Director of Italmec and Gulfmec told Khaleej Times, "Dubai has tremendous importance for us as a regional, geographical and logistical location in the Middle East. We are in the process of relocating some of our staff from Singapore. For Italmec, Dubai is critical owing to a number of reasons, viz. competitive operational costs offered by a farsighted economic policy, wide-open spaces for building a solid policy of expansion, and above all, the central geographical position in the Middle East."
Overall, Italmec represents a successful business holding across industrial sectors. In the automobile sector alone more than 85 per cent of cars produced in the world are assembled with manipulators from the group. Italmec's decision to move its headquarters to Dubai has kept it ideally positioned in the centre of its worldwide operations. With Europe serviced by Dalmec, the Italian producer of pneumatic manipulators, Italmec has kept its entire focus on global distribution.
Adds Cellini, "Dubai is the perfect centre of gravity for Italmec. This is the logistic centre with the best possible features for our growth. By basing our headquarters in Dubai, Italmec can manage its business operations between a time zone of four to six hours, West and East. For us, Dubai is a window to the future."
With most of the economies in Europe showing positive signs after a patch of cooling off, Italmec has taken the time to reflect and revitalise its core business fundamentals. "Sometimes you have to look at both the negatives and positives. The slowdown helped us as a business to re-structure and re-assess. My father says that whenever things slow down, one must use the time to spot loopholes, gear up and improve," Cellini noted.  

DOWN MEMORY LANE: In 1956 the Cellini brothers, Giovanni, Gabriele and Francesco, founded a small company that specialised in the production of furniture and wood components in Cles, a small town located in Val di Non in the Trento region of northern Italy.

Elaborating on the Gulf market and the company's standing as an innovating business, the MD said, "The Middle East is a very young market. Italmec is a respected name here since we are among the first companies to have emerged in the industrial material-handling sector in the region, which has worked to our advantage. Regarding innovation, we have several unique and specific applications. The secret of our success is that we are very proactive in delivering solutions. With every new machine, we introduce a new kind of innovation."
Italmec possesses a very unique market share. "Ours is a unique business. We started from the handicraft business and went on to become a multinational group. However, we still have the philosophy of an artisan. The beauty of Italmec is that we are - by origin - an artisan business that has gone global. We offer services that are impeccable. I often tell my team that not only the product, but also the service should be first-class. While people might forget pricing, they never forget the service that you provide them," Cellini added.
The Group's main focus is to strengthen its position in the region. "It needs no telling that Italian technology is the best in the world, sometimes even surpassing the German technology. In some cases the Italian products are 10 to 15 per cent more competitive than German products. We are a pure Italian brand with every aspect of the business following the most stringent environmental safety and structural norm. The effect of 'Made in Italy' around the world is much more positive than it is being talked about. We need to amplify the message," he concluded.   
-sadiq@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai

Sadiq Shaban

• sadiq@khaleejtimes.com