Insight

Mustad has been investing in automation in order to further improve the quality of its products, as well as its productivity, to maintain its unchanged position as a leading manufacturer of quality products and technically advanced screws. 

A family business with over 100 years of experience, Mustad has seen significant success and growth in the last five years, with both production volumes and turnover growing due to new customers and new markets. “Our success is based on the fact we manufacture 100% of the products we sell,” states Mustad SpA. “We are also able to manufacture a wide range of products for a lot of markets, including automotive, household appliances, electronics, mechanical, wood, as well as aluminium and PVC. In addition, all of our processes are carried out internally in a very strong and integrated way.”

Mustad continues: “For us screws are not just objects but functions, which is why we develop products according to applications or to improve the customer experience – helping to also reduce global fixing costs. For us it is not just about developing products, it is also about investing in training our staff and customers to understand the capabilities of the fasteners, as this helps us underline how the products can be used and sold.”

Mustad exports 40% of its products to more than 30 countries within Europe, as well as in the USA – approaching each market with a strategy of a long-term vision and looking to partner with customers that believe in a long-term cooperation. “Our focus is on the European markets where our products and services can help make a difference to customers,” mentions Mustad. “For instance, we often provide a co-design service to our customers, which is a win-win approach because customers can find solutions or standardise their processes and we can learn about various applications. By focusing on our customers’ needs, we can find the best solution with the best quality/price ratio, whilst delivering solutions that are produced on machines and product lines that are becoming more and more automated.”

The company adds: “Automation for our customers is a strong drive that is developing year by year. This is an advantage for us because for these types of customers the quality of the product, the service level, the stock availability and the very short supply chain are crucial aspects. We also guarantee our products are 100% 'Made in Italy', which ensures a very short supply chain and helps us to be more responsive to customers’ needs.”

“That is why we have ensured our production is highly automated. However, even with automated machines they still need to be set-up before they can work autonomously and with customer requirements increasing every year, the products also need to be checked when being produced. That is why we are so focused on investing in training our operators so they are able to handle these challenges,” reports Mustad. “We must continue to face the market with curiosity to catch opportunities and manage change. Thanks to our investments, we are able to continuously improve our quality, proximity and the development of our capacity.”