President Massimo Nuti’s point of view, looking ahead with confidence. Appointment at Automechanika Frankfurt.
In 1962 Roberto Nuti established the company that still bears his name in Bologna. Sixty years have elapsed and today, this company with an Italian core, chaired by Massimo Nuti, has become international – with offices in Italy, Turkey and India; 40% quota of exports to over 80 countries; and a product range spanning far beyond the aftermarket of industrial vehicles. Indeed, in the last two years the historical SABO brand shock absorbers and air springs (designed in Italy and produced in the Group’s factories) have been joined by shock absorbers for OEMs and, especially, for railway cars, for which the company has achieved standard UNI EN 15085-2:2008, safeguarding the reliability of components for locomotives, coaches and trams. The wide range closes with the production of customised applications (shock absorbers for special vehicles, for agricultural vehicles and for various industrial technologies). Added to this is the exclusive marketing in Italy of components produced by leading international brands, such as MEI-QAS (brake levers and calipers), Pilot (seats), AYD (tie rods) and Beweko (clutches).
This 60th year comes at an extremely challenging time in history, and as we turn the corner in 2022, President Massimo Nuti sizes up the situation.
“We have overcome these last two years by channelling our efforts to keep assisting our customers, ensuring both service and assortment quality, besides good value for money. These traits have distinguished us for the past 60 years. We have invested both at organisational level, to ensure continuity and impetus to commercial and management activities, and also in production technology to enter new market sectors. From a historical perspective, 2020 was the most complicated year, even though our plants never closed because our production was within the permitted categories, as it served the trucking industry. In 2021, we successfully focused on catching up, thus restoring levels achieved in 2019”.
But the pandemic was followed by other complications. How did you deal with them?
“In 2021 we started noticing shortages of raw materials with consequent cost increases. However, thanks to our purchasing policies and the capacity of our warehouses, we were able to curtail the problems. Then we had to face the significant rise in energy costs and inflation. Finally, the war in Ukraine has involved countries that are very important to us. And let’s not forget that Covid is still a potential threat. Despite everything, also as a result of the choices made in the past, we have reacted as best as we could. Indeed, I can proudly say that the first half of 2022 went well, consistently with 2021”.
What do you expect in the coming months?
“There are a thousand unknowns both internationally and in Italy. We have to deal with the effects of a political governance crisis, and with the widespread difficulty the entire industrial system is experiencing in coping with rising costs and in finding personnel to meet the demands of a recovery that, in spite of everything, is continuing, also favoured by the euro/dollar exchange rate, which facilitates exports of Italian products. We shall see what happens in autumn, in terms of health and energy costs. But our dimension is now international, and that is also why we are confident. We face the markets by focusing on assortment and service, aware that our historical know-how, and the significant investments we have made, will allow us to always be a landmark for our markets. After the stop imposed by the pandemic, we can be satisfied that our participation in trade fairs has recommenced. The next appointment, which is the most important one for our sector, is in Frankfurt, for Automechanika, where we shall emphasise our 60th anniversary. We hope that, meanwhile, peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will resume, and that a new season centred on dialogue and economic and social development will begin”.
MC
In the image, the rendering of the Roberto Nuti Group stand (Hall 6.1 Stand D53) at Automechanika Frankfurt (13 – 17 September 2022).
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