“Valuable relationships with the customer”: the most important goal for SCM
What is the common thread that characterizes SCM’s presence both in its home territory and in the international markets where it operates? Pietro Gheller reveals it to us, emphasizing the strong – and far from obvious – link between the Group’s roots and its global presence.
Pietro Gheller joined SCM in 2019 as Sales Director of the Wood Division and became its Director in April 2024, taking responsibility for industrial functions, technologies, customer care and business development. A truly “all-round” experience and role, which undoubtedly give him a 360-degree vision: exactly what we needed to try to take stock of the situation in what is undeniably a complex phase…
“There is no denying that uncertainty reigns at the moment, even though this does not prevent us from identifying certain trends”, Gheller begins. “Italy has regained momentum and we closed 2025 with results I would define as decent, growing compared to 2024 and at levels that bring us closer again to the record figures of 2023. This result was achieved thanks to strategic consistency, which allowed us to regain market share. Spaces that we also made our own in Europe, a substantially stable market, where we achieved particularly important results – in addition to Italy – in France, Spain and Poland. Things did not go the same way in the DACH area (Germany, Austria and Switzerland, ed.) and especially in Germany, where the automotive crisis has dragged, and continues to drag, many other situations with it that penalize us and all our competitors.
We achieved still solid results in North America, despite the uncertainty triggered by the issue of tariffs, with a “real estate” universe that is performing quite well, while we have witnessed a downward trend in South America, especially in Brazil. Oceania is holding up, while it is the Asian economy that is worrying, China above all: Chinese construction is in a state of severe distress, with a surplus of properties and thousands of unfinished buildings that cannot fail to weigh on the world of wood and furniture as well, even though the Chinese government is working intensively to reactivate the virtuous cycle. Not to mention an increasingly aggressive local production…”.
A topic, this, that is increasingly worrying…
“… and not without reason: we must be very attentive to Chinese competition, which has undoubtedly grown and which we encounter significantly in Asia and South America. We are nevertheless talking about an offering that still has several gaps to fill, first and foremost guaranteeing a continuous relationship with the dealer and the customer, a plus that is not in the DNA of Chinese industry in general. For us at SCM, on the other hand, it is a strength to be able to boast quality relationships with customers and dealers: a stable relationship with our partners is an unparalleled and probably unmatchable value.
This distinctive trait is an example of our ability to “think globally” and to adapt choices, strategies and priorities to the needs of different markets. You see, just to touch on the “focus” theme in which this interview will be published, SCM is a company that by history, choice and vocation is deeply rooted in the territory in which it was born and in Italy in general, but it learned very early on to think about different markets by customizing its actions in every geographical area where it is present. We are able to develop very different “go to market” models: in some countries we are in direct contact with our end customers, in others we are completely connected with the work of our dealers”.
Doctor Gheller, in a changing world are the “things that matter” always the same?
“Absolutely. The value of the relationship with the customer, for example: a commitment that goes beyond the moment of sale; a strategy, a closeness over time that in recent years has seen us invest heavily in people and tools. The term “servitization”, not one of the simplest, actually sums up aspects that are fundamental for us, such as the loyalty of the relationship with the customer, which we are amplifying thanks to digital tools that, from a service perspective, allow us to always be at the side of those who have chosen us: a continuous exchange of information to be not only reactive but increasingly proactive, even intervening before a problem can arise.
To do this, we have significantly increased the level of “sensorization” of our machines and systems, creating a true ecosystem through which we can collect more and more information and turn it into high value-added services. We are talking about an enormous amount of data, coming from over 4,000 machines connected to our “Control Room”, information that we collect, manage and analyze also thanks to that artificial intelligence that is talked about so much and that has long permeated the content of our work”.
How can all this be reconciled with demand that is too often influenced by incentives and “super bonuses”?
“Incentives can distort the market, but they are also an invaluable asset. It depends on how they are used and on the strategies that accompany them: if they are not embedded in a clear industrial policy, they will not take us far. Let me add that “Machinery” is a fundamental component of our country’s economic health, and therefore it is important to intervene with effective tools in sectors such as design, timber construction or furniture, just to give a few examples that involve us. “Expressing an industrial policy that is attentive to these excellences of “made in Italy” means not only guaranteeing their growth, but supporting countless companies, upstream and downstream”.
And speaking of technologies? Are we facing some revolution or is the state of the art what we already know?
“As you well know, SCM invests about 7 percent of its turnover in research, development and innovation for sectors in which competition is increasingly strong, even in a market context that is not always favorable. If you add to this the progressive and seemingly unstoppable shortage of skills, it becomes easier to understand the direction in which we are pushing our approach to innovation.
On the one hand, we are called upon to propose extremely effective but modular solutions, which allow small and medium-sized companies to invest “step by step”; on the other, we have acquired an excellence in automation and innovation such as Tecno Logica, ready to think about the most challenging and high-performing future scenarios, about the developments that its “carousel” applications, already successfully used in automotive, can bring to the sectors in which we operate. An “option” that has attracted, and continues to attract, great interest”.
Speaking of which: will it be easier for Tecno Logica to be involved in wood, or to bring SCM into other sectors?
“The starting point was to propose to the furniture world a “strong” solution like the one offered by Tecno Logica, today perfectly integrated into the Group in terms of product development, process and commercial level: our business units look at Tecno Logica solutions, existing or potential, as part of their offering. I am also convinced that in the medium term this synergy could take us anywhere…”.
… perhaps in the direction of multi-materiality…
“Absolutely, a strong theme also in the recent past, but one that today much more clearly characterizes the needs expressed by our customers: anyone who wants to offer something truly different cannot avoid dealing with different materials, and we all see how this happens in kitchens, bathroom environments or doors. SCM made precise choices long ago, starting with the presence within the Group of an excellence such as Cms of Zogno, with which there is an ongoing partnership on multi-materiality, not only in plastics or composites, but also in stone, glass and metal. And for some time now we have also been able to rely on the aluminum processing expertise of Mecal, confirming our Group’s vocation to maintain specializations, recognizing the specific skills of the different entities”.
In this increasingly broad and complex scenario, doesn’t it become too difficult to keep your “Rimini identity” intact?
“We are talking about maintaining solid roots, about always believing in precise values that for us are universal: the relationship with the customer, service, respect for people. We live our nature as a multinational company with conviction and coherence, working every day to build something solid, an identity that is expressed in each of our branches, in each of our “Technology Centers” around the world; realities that are extremely important to us because they allow us to take the temperature of the markets and to always stay close to customers’ needs.
Our sector is transforming, it has transformed: today even the world of wood is dealing with ideas and tools that seemed destined to remain in more “mature” sectors, in aerospace, in chemistry or in automotive. There are important changes still underway all over the world, not least the growing expectations towards a few large players, recognized as those who can invest in these technologies and services. This leads us to face a increasingly polarized scenario: on the one hand the “large customers”, those seeking absolute flexibility and significant volumes; on the other, that portion of the market – still very important – that operates according to more artisanal logics. It is a pleasure to emphasize how SCM has answers for both these universes, however different they may be from each other: a very articulated portfolio that no one else in the world can boast. This is a founding value for SCM and it will always remain so”.
No possibility of simplifying this scenario?
“It is difficult. We keep a steady course focused on a quality relationship with customers and dealers: if we tried to give a single answer to everyone, we would fail. It is our duty to segment our operations in order to customize each proposal, and it is no coincidence that our customer portal is called “My SCM”: each customer must and can experience “their own” SCM, having at their side a partner who understands them and continues to stay close to them in their business needs. On this path, digital tools, in addition to the highly specialized expertise of our team, give us many opportunities!”.
by Luca Rossetti
