Pros and cons, two sides of the same coin that merge, balance with each other and make significant achievements. The philosophy of Dalso builds on this concept, fully leverages its benefits, and identifies solutions for the challenges that the future will bring to companies.
Challenge is not a scary word at Dalso, it is a driver to do better: it has driven the organization founded by Luca Dal Soglio in 2001 to grow, expand, become more and more efficient. We wrote about this company some time ago and it was a pleasure to meet them again, to understand how automation has evolved, to know more about their business and the new development of the company based in Schio, a few kilometers from Vicenza.
Solid foundations for a future that promises to be rosy…
“Exactly, the prospects are excellent. Through our history, we have always been growing progressively in recent years, since we invested in the new manufacturing site in 2015, with exponential rates. We will close 2022 with approximately 15-million-euro revenues, and in 2023, based on current orders, we should increase our growth rates further. We have a full schedule of deliveries for 2023 and part of 2024.
But we must not be distracted by the figures of the two post-pandemic years, however positive. As usual, when you achieve such results, you must consider the context and avoid “getting our head up”; instead, you must approach the next year with great caution and determination, continuing to leverage our qualities and the peculiarities of our products…”.
“…and for Dalso, these products are special lines made to measure for customers”, added Christian Salvador, marketing consultant at Dalso. “The strength of the company is the capacity to build custom lines. Many companies search standardization. Dalso goes into the opposite direction, and it could not be otherwise. These decisions are based not only on figures and calculations, but most of all on passion and know-how that drive us to search for new solutions”.
Were you impacted by the uncertainties caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict?
“We are still dealing with the consequences of raw material supplies disrupted by the pandemic. The Russia-Ukraine was only made things worse. It’s a snowball effect: the difficult provisioning of raw materials caused prices to increase, and consequently, this trend had an impact on the entire supply chain. And as it always happens in these situations, there were many speculations.
All companies were affected by the scarcity of materials, from steel to wood, but the biggest problems involved electronic components”.
How have you reacted to this trend?
“For obvious reasons, we had to “expand” our portfolio of suppliers, trying to make up for reduced supplies. Especially for components and microchips, we also decided to search solutions online. But in the first place, we discussed openly with our suppliers and customers. Where possible, we found agreements, we organized, we found a way to minimize potential disruption due to causes that were independent of us.
We focused on our stocks, trying to plan in large advance and have everything “in house”. Quite honestly, this decision has paid back. We will see what happens in the future”.
Lucio Dal Soglio
The goal is to keep raising the bar…
“Sure, but with a sensible approach, we don’t want to run after figures for their own sake. Dalso wants to create an organization that grows step-by-step sustainably. Our goal is not to make a one-year exploit and then stop. Probably, right now, we might increase production and revenues, and get closer and closer to the 20-million-euro target, but if you want to build a solid business, you need consistency, dedication, and the awareness that hard work and organization “pay” and ensure the future of the company.
Will it take time? Sure, but I really believe that, in this way, we can also create an environment where each employee and collaborator can grow with us and can become part of our industrial plan and development lines. It may seem easy, but this is the differentiator in the long run”.
“And to achieve this goal – Lucio Dal Soglio continued – we are investing a lot to optimize our production. We have implemented new management and planning systems, we have expanded our facilities, we will invest in automated warehouses, and most of all, we will invest in human resources, to improve the efficiency of our employees and put them in the best conditions. This is a benefit for the working environment and for the company as well. Each error we avoid, each operation we optimize generates value with tangible results.
This is where we are going to act: the optimization of workflows will be the big challenge in the coming years. Optimizing and consolidating the positive results achieved so far, showing to our customers that we are a strong player, and most of all proactive, with an efficient, qualified, quick, and accurate after-sales service. When you buy a product, an automation line, a machine, you always want to make sure that, at the other end of the phone, someone can support you with all your needs. And I am proud to say that this service is one of our aces in the hole”.
How is the automation business evolving?
“We have certainly made huge steps forward in a very short time. We have progressed to automation with ever increasing performance standards, embracing the entire production process. And with these steps, also customer requests have changed, as they transformed from “operators” to “managers” of the machine. In this respect, innovation is more and more about the processing and analysis of data collected from the machines. Data is essential to ensure the quality and efficiency of production, which in turn improves the “quality” of work with the same number of operators. This is a factor that cannot be understated, especially in our region”.
“Like Lucio explained – Christian Salvador concluded – while in the past automation was basically workpiece handling, now the process has developed, it has a wider scope. The piece is manipulated, but also all workpiece-related information must be processed. And this opens new scenarios”.
by Francesco Inverso
dalso.it
