Insight

In 2019 Colombo Special Fasteners (CSF) acquired its heat treatment supplier CITT to guarantee the high-quality of its products. Five years on, Deputy Editor Claire Aldridge visited CITT’s brand new production plant in Usmate Velate, on the outskirts of Milan, to see how an investment in a fully automated belt line is helping towards CSF’s goal of 100% energy autonomy.

Established in the 1960s as a manufacturer of small furnaces for the goldsmith sector, CITT Srl now offers heat treatments including hardening, quenching, annealing, normalising and tempering, as well as thermochemical diffusion treatments such as carbonitriding (with and without hardening), carburising and nitriding. Surface finishing treatments are also available including sandblasting and thermal burnishing. 

Fully operational at the start of June, the new automated belt line has a washing station with an integrated dephosphating system and has been developed with Industry 4.0 in mind. The production plant also complies with all current environmental and industrial regulations. 

The new dephosphating station consists of a washing process before the heat treatment and is carried out using specific alkaline-based products –  necessary for degreasing and removing oils, greases, stearates, as well as phosphates used mainly on steel to increase the efficiency of the lubricants required for cold drawing, which is a requirement in many automotive specifications for strength classes ≥10.9 and the ISO 898-1 standard. The new line also includes two new furnaces – a continuous furnace for smaller parts serviced by an automated belt and a static furnace for longer parts – to provide CITT with a wider range of quality services, with everything connected to an internal IT system and geared for Industry 4.0.

“In the current market it’s hard to find high-quality heat treatment suppliers. We made the investment in CITT because the loss of a good supplier would have created problems for us,” explains Marco Colombo, CEO at Colombo Special Fasteners (CSF). “CITT is working for others – not just for CSF – and is a reliable heat treatment partner in the fastener industry. At the same time, CSF invested significant resources to the complete renovation of CITT to guarantee a high-quality service, quicker delivery times and more flexibility – contributing to growth, improvement and development. CSF is now able to stand as a partner providing an even more exhaustive service in terms of offer, qualitative performance and timing.”

The growth of CSF

Founded in 1955 by Piero Colombo, as a factory geared towards the production of standard screws, wire drawing, and resale, CSF now focuses on the development of special parts according to drawing and is able to manufacture cold formed parts from 2.5mm – 30mm in diameter, in a variety of materials such as steel, stainless steel, brass, as well as copper, in lengths of up to 240mm. This includes parts with complex geometries and finishing grades with special threads, machining operations, heat and surface treatments through to careful inspection and sorting.

60% of CSF’s turnover is domestic, with the remaining 40% coming from mainly European markets – something Marco is keen to develop further. “Every day we take actions aimed at generating long-term value for the company and that includes a policy of expanding the countries to which we export. These actions have brought both CITT and CSF into an Industry 4.0 perspective and the next investments from 2025 and beyond will be in sustainability and energy containment, with the goal to reach 100% energy autonomy,” highlights Marco.

Sustainability for CSF means the constant and concrete commitment to promote a business model aimed at the efficient and strategic management of the resources available. That is why the company’s strategy is made up of small steps that gradually contribute to integrating sustainability into the way it operates – laying the foundations for a real transformation of the company’s culture.

CSF’s sustainability goals include the completion of a new eco-friendly production site in Cisano Bergamasco – with solar panels to help meet the company’s energy needs; a centralised fume extraction system for the benefit of employees and the working environment conditions; implementation of an oil recovery and cleaning plan, as well as waste reduction; digitalisation of the production departments by completely eliminating the use of paper; and finally the promotion of good habits and responsible management of resources in each department, such as reducing water, plastic and paper consumption.

“We want our technology to combine profitability and sustainability, increasing efficiency while reducing costs, waste and impacts. As well as this, we are committed to promoting a good corporate culture, in order to attract and retain skilled people – a challenge we currently face as a manufacturer. CSF therefore offers the opportunity for young people to learn the art of cold forming and grow within the business,” mentions Marco.

He continues: “We need to make sure the CSF environment is a comfortable, attractive and desirable place to work, as it becomes clearer each day that the expectations of potential employees for the company are not just economic but wellbeing too. For this reason, the business is focusing on the renovations of office buildings in both factories to provide a more stimulating and beautiful environment.” 

The new eco-friendly production site in Cisano Bergamasco also houses another of the company’s projects – MASTER FACTORY 4.0. The project means all machinery in the production department is now interconnected to manage and control the production function of the whole plant, as well as the monitoring of machine activity load through the ‘real time’ data collection of headers, thread rollers, sorting machines and CNC centres. Data collected includes quantities produced and related timing; machine stops and related causes; raw material used; rejects and product nonconformities; as well as production efficiency KPI measurement. This enables the company to draft customised reports and have full product traceability. 

Marco concludes: “With these investments in new high-quality technology we are laying the foundations for our future. We welcome changes, adapt to them, and shape our proposal according to the real needs of the customers – primarily ensuring their satisfaction. We are open to constantly optimising processes and improving products, aware that any positive change brings corporate wellbeing and new added values for our customers.”