Insight

For seventy years Fontana Gruppo has provided global fastening solutions to customers, becoming known for its innovation, research, production, and growth, by combining a long-term vision with a passion for building the future.

Born Fontana Luigi and today known as Fontana Gruppo, the company is still led by the Fontana family – with CEO Giuseppe Fontana assisted by brothers Enio and Luigi – while business development and operations are managed by the third generation of the family, Fabrizio and Alberto Fontana.

“Fontana Gruppo is proud of its history and to still be a family business,” states Sergio Cattaneo, CEO EMEA at Fontana Gruppo. “This reputation comes from the fact that not only does it still have the Fontana family working within the business, but it also encourages the development and growth of its employees. For instance, I joined Fontana directly from university and have worked for the company for 24 years – experiencing almost every part of the group. This is a common occurrence within our employees and that is due to the support and guidance they are given to make them feel part of the family.”

From the very beginning Fontana has based its business on the belief that every screw or bolt is a high-tech object, which can always be developed. “Our goal is constant evolution thanks to our attention to customers’ needs, which leads to partnerships beginning with product projects and continuing up to the produce usage. Our company is certain that each fastener is a high-tech item, always open to improvement,” explains Sergio. “From concept to production, passing through engineering to service, Fontana Gruppo qualifies as a real partner for a variety of sectors and markets. This approach has led the company to be a supplier of all major brands in the automotive and industrial sector, as well as dedicating special attention to the development of high profile solutions in the field of structural bolts.”

Another key factor within Fontana’s success has been special products, which have been a real driver of the group’s growth. “Thanks to our R&D activity we have been able to develop more than 140 patents, in addition to countless trademarks and treatments that are real reference points for the fastener industry,” highlights Sergio. 

A worldwide presence

Today Fontana Gruppo is a world leader in fasteners with 32 locations in 29 countries – in Europe, South America, North America and India – 19 of which are production facilities. With more than 4,000 employees the group produces over 12 billion pieces per year, which equates to 250,000 tonnes of products and results in a turnover of €900 million. 

“Our strategy has always been to be present where customers operate – firstly by introducing ourselves via a logistics centre and then by looking to add high value added engineering facilities and services,” points out Sergio. “This enables us to produce parts close to customers and build strong partnerships. It has been a successful strategy for us, which is why we will continue to use it with new markets in the future.”

Well known within the automotive sector, Fontana has recently looked to develop other markets. “Previously we were heavily reliant on the automotive industry, with it accounting for nearly 90% of our business only 5 or 6 years ago. We have successfully grown other sectors over recent years so that they now account for 30% – with automotive now 70%. We have moved into agriculture, aerospace, civil engineering, and earth moving, and have worked on some very exciting projects.”

Another area Fontana has worked particularly hard in developing over recent years is its logistics and distribution service, with the introduction on FAST TRADE in 2020. “FAST TRADE is a standalone business and is strategically very important for us,” explains Sergio. “It has been set-up to increase our logistics capacity and allows us to support customers around the world. Alongside the wide product offering, FAST TRADE can also offer quality and engineering options to provide extra services to customers.” 

A key factor with FAST TRADE is that it does not just supply Fontana products, it is also able to meet the needs of other products not produced by Fontana. “We are a big company and we produce a lot of products, but we cannot produce everything,” laughs Sergio. “That is why FAST TRADE also includes those products we do not produce internally. Another positive aspect of FAST TRADE is that it has its own advanced eCommerce site, as we believe this aspect of business will be very important in the future.”

Adding standard products

In addition to its distribution services, Sergio also believes that FAST TRADE can play a vital role in Fontana looking to concentrate more on standard parts, especially since the introduction of the anti-dumping duties on certain fasteners from China. 

“When it comes to producing standard parts there are a couple of key factors you need as a business. Firstly, the margin for standard parts is relatively low, so you need to have the capability and capacity to produce large quantities. Secondly, you need to have the logistic capabilities. At Fontana we have the volume capabilities, in fact we already have the machinery, which are ready to go. We can simply turn them on and get them running to be solely dedicated to these types of parts. That is why we are looking to reopen this production line and start producing the standard parts for customers as an alternative source. In addition to the machinery, we now also have FAST TRADE that can provide all the necessary distribution and logistics services required by customers to meet every type of need. We see this as a big opportunity now with the introduction of the anti-dumping duties and we are keen to grow this part of the business and provide a reliable and quick service to customers within Europe.”

Unique celebrations

To mark its 70^th anniversary Fontana Gruppo decided against one big celebration, but instead carried out smaller internal events and looked to mark the occasion with two special projects – with other events planned for the rest of 2022. “During the Covid-19 period we didn’t know how things would develop within Italy. We therefore decided in 2021 not to have a ‘big’ event, but instead have a number of specific events each month,” explains Sergio. “We wanted to reduce the physical presence and have smaller groups of employees that could celebrate together. This has enabled our celebrations to be more personal and build on the family ethos we have within the business.”

To add to these small events the company also worked on two special projects to mark the 70^th anniversary – the first of which was a special Fontana Gruppo Postmark. “We received a unique Fontana Postmark and then invited Poste Italiane to our headquarters where we held a ceremony to officially recognise the Postmark,” mentions Sergio. “As part of this ceremony the Postmark was also added to the Museo Storico della Comunicazione (the historical museum of communication) based in Rome.” 

The second project to commemorate the anniversary was the commissioning of international photographer Maurizio Galimberti to work on a special book entitled: ‘Inside the Cathedral of Work’ (pictured right), which is about the group’s 70 years of history through photos. The artist is famous for his polaroid mosaics with which he creates sequences or splits the image. 

“This was the first time that Maurizio had carried out a commission on a business rather than an individual and so it was a unique opportunity for us to mark the anniversary. Maurizio came to our headquarters and took hundreds of photos of every aspect of Fontana. He then went away and created individual artworks – with each a mosaic of polaroid photos of our business – the buildings, the machinery, the products, everything,” points out Sergio. “Once the book was complete, we held a special event for our employees and their families where they could view all the final pieces in an art gallery style display. It was great to see the different pieces and how Maurizio had combined the photos to create something new – whilst still making the images about Fontana and its culture.”

Targeting future growth

Whilst Fontana Gruppo is proud to celebrate its 70^th anniversary, the company is also looking forward at how it can continue to grow in the future. “We have already taken several steps in our aim to grow and thanks to the investments we had made in our capabilities and services, we are confident we will be successful going forward,” states Sergio. “The last few years have certainly been challenging for all of us – especially due to the fact that each challenge seemed to happen one after another. However, as a business we have been able to maintain a level of production to the necessary standards.”

“There are still challenges within the market, such as energy prices and the potential for growing inflation across Europe, where it is not as easy to pass on the rises to customers. However, we cannot manage what is happening outside the company. All we can do is focus internally on what we are doing. That is why we will continue with our environmental policy, which we have been working on for a number of years, as well as continue to work on optimising processes and steps as much as possible. By doing this we can continue to grow and develop as a business whilst providing our global customer base with the fastening solutions and services they need.”