The Fenzi Group is celebrating 70 years of business and, according to Alessandro Fenzi, CEO of the Group, Certainly, the best way to celebrate this event is to look to the future with the same determi…
The Fenzi Group is celebrating 70 years of business and, according to Alessandro Fenzi, CEO of the Group, Certainly, the best way to celebrate this event is to look to the future with the same determination that has led us over the years to create innovative, high-quality products, as he emphasizes the company“s strategy: choosing only raw materials that meet the highest quality standards, investments in research for technological improvements, maximum safety throughout all phases of the production process, and on-going support for customers around the world. From the very beginning, the Group decided to work in a highly specialized industry, one that supplies chemical products for secondary processing of flat glass, and the field in which it is now an acclaimed global leader. Thanks to the knowledge built up over 70 years of specialization in the areas of mirror coatings, IG sealants, and decorative paint, today the Group is able to forecast market needs. Furthermore, working closely with clients has always been one of the company“s strengths, and part of the Group“s keen innovative drive stems from this ability: to understand the future needs of customers and turn them into state-of-the-art, functional products. The Group relies on an extensive international network assembled over the years on five continents: For anyone like us, who chooses to work in a highly specialized sector, coverage of global markets is an absolute necessity, stated Alessandro Fenzi. The Group“s strategy for the future is focused on further strengthening its foreign footprint, especially in markets that display strong growth potential. China and Russia immediately come to mind. Last year the Group celebrated its 30th year in Asia and inaugurated a new manufacturing plant in Russia; in both these locations, further expansion of production is on the drawing boards. The company“s foresight in recognizing the potential of these markets was, and continues to be, rewarded in terms of sales and production. During the 1980s, at the same time it was expanding in North and South America and in Australia, the company began exporting Duralux mirror coatings to Asia and especially to China, focusing at first on the big cities like Beijing and Shanghai and then, with the rapid development of industrialized processes, also on outlying areas. This led to an increase in distribution coverage and a strengthening of networks. In 2006 Fenzi China Paints and Sealants Company Limited was established. A considerable management commitment and shrewd networking strategies helped us overcome the inevitable barriers that separate Western industry and traditions from those in Asia, by blending our know-how with the employment of local staff and workers continues Alessandro Fenzi. Every country has its way of doing things and it would not be right, or strategically wise, to think you can drop an Italian business model into another culture from day one In order to understand and cope with the needs, the differences, and the specific requirements of the customers, in China, as in the rest of the world, you need to be prepared to put a flexible plan into play. Performance of Duralux mirror coatings continues to be excellent, thanks in part to the consistent growth of the domestic home furnishings market, which goes hand-in-hand with historically strong exports. The same positive trend holds true for Tempver enamels, recently added to the production programme of the China plant. But the real challenge for the current year is to produce high performance sealants on site. Launched in October of 2010, production in China of Butylver, the polyisobutylene-based sealant, used in the first barrier sealing of insulating glass, is, in fact, growing. China is becoming increasingly sensitive toward curbing carbon dioxide emissions and consequently, setting new standards in terms of energy savings, thermal and acoustic insulation, a trend that points the way to a future rife with potential for the Group. Quality insulating glass will become an essential element in reducing energy consumption and now, more than ever, the quality of Fenzi“s production is beginning to be recognized and, even better, in great demand. Another example toward understanding the strategic capabilities of the Group is that of the OOO Fenzi and OOO Alu-Pro plants in Lipetsk, approximately 500 km from Moscow. These are the only Italian firms in the sector to have an on-site manufacturing plant, already running at top speed, just slightly more than two years after the beginning of operations. In fact, with a visceral sense of its growth potential, in 1998 Fenzi began exporting IG products to the Russian Federation. Step by step the Group has gained a leadership position in the polysulphide sealant and aluminium profile market. Out of this grew the need for an on-site manufacturing investment in order to maintain market share over time. Finding the right location and bringing the project to conclusion was not a simple task. But we did learn from our experiences, and we succeeded in getting our state-of-the-art plants up and running. In some ways, our Russian plants are the Group“s most innovative, explains Alessandro Fenzi. Alu-Pro has been running at nearly full capacity since September 2010 and is already planning to expand. Fenzi launched in February 2010 and expects to be operating at full volume by summer. The thing that has brought the Group the greatest satisfaction was, however, immediately achieving superior-quality production in Russia. From the very first day we managed to deliver to our Russian customers products of the same trusted quality we had supplied from our plants in Western Europe, confirms Alessandro Fenzi. The firm“s vigorous international market presence is also fortified, as is well-known, by the Glass Alliance network. Fenzi, Alu-Pro and Rolltech, the three core companies in the organization, manage to meet their clients“ needs at all times, anywhere in the world. The Glass Alliance network relies on more than 500 employees, working in nine plants, manufacturing centres, and sales offices for the three firms on all seven continents. Coverage is nearly complete, and this explains why most of the manufacturers of insulating glass regularly use among their components at least one of the products distributed by Glass Alliance.