Since the beginning of 2017 Scm has been working on the reorganisation of its newly-formed Italy branch, with a major Group’s investment meant to consolidate its great success in recent years and celebrate the market recovery of the woodworking industry.
Heading this reorganisation operation isLuca Bergantini, 39 years old, Italy Country Manager, who for two years now has been leading the team of specialists at the Scm branch. The goal is to always stay close to customers: from the all-important selection of the best machines that meet their needs to the after-sales service.
The Italian market has been steadily growing in the past two years. Since 2014 the Group’s revenues doubled, taking full advantage of the early signs of recovery it saw in 2013. The first to make their move were the large international groups. Following right behind, came the domestic market, where major companies began to invest with conviction in their industries. Leading this recovery have been the Brianza and Triveneto areas, which represent 65% of the domestic market.
Mr. Bergantini’s effort is to focus on strengthening SCM’s historic relationship with most of the industry’s Italian companies; seizing new strategic opportunities in a sector that has courageously embarked on the course of innovation; and providing a more efficient service to customers.
Another aspect of Scm’s strategy in Italy, in which Bergantini is a firm believer, is vocational training. “Commitment to continued training is one of our hallmarks, and explains why we share partnership projects with various institutions, organisations and schools. The collaboration between industry and education is critical for providing an education that is consistent with the market. Today, and more so in the future, “Industry 4.0 craftsmen and workers” use and will be using numerically controlled (Cnc) machines and software to produce custom-designed furniture and wood products.”
Scm Group has always believed in the need for establishing regional centres and service centres throughout Italy. The Group’s distribution and service network is the most widespread in the country. There are currently over 50 technicians located across the Italian “boot”, and taking training courses periodically to be able to serve customers effectively and quickly. A national call centre, answering two toll-free numbers – one for service, the other for all other issues – enables SCM to offer prompt assistance to customers any time they need.
Scm Group operates three main production centres in Italy (Rimini-Emilia Romagna-Tuscany, Thiene-Vicenza and Lombardy) with total production floor area exceeding 300,000 square metres. The production plants have showrooms with a total floor area of 5,000 square metres.
But “more than mere numbers, it is people who are behind the success of our company,” as the Group’s CEO, Andrea Aureli, explains. “Scm Group has been operating for 65 years in the national and international markets, producing culture rather than just machines. A solid group which views people as one of the key factors of its success. Investing in human capital and in young people means investing in the future, and I am confident our efforts in this direction will allow us to continue to lead the way our industry is heading for a long time to come.”
Despite his young age, Luca Bergantini has been working for Scm for 17 years. Following a brilliant academic career, his and Scm’s destinies crossed paths and have marched together ever since. Bergantini started his career at Scm in the marketing office, later focusing on markets in the Triveneto and Balkan territories. He was then promoted to a regional manager position covering the Italian territory. Since 2013 he worked in Russia, as manager for that territory, and then returned to Italy in 2015 where he has worked focusing mainly on the national market.
The “big factory”, which Bergantini watched with admiration as a child and knew as a place that provided jobs and growth throughout its surrounding territory, has now become his home. A home where he can cultivate – with passion that is shared by those around him – his, and their, aspirations and the possibility to express personal values through hard daily work – following a traditional Romagna do-good attitude. A tradition that has always combined high technology with managerial and organisational skills needed for meeting the challenges posed by global markets.
