Insight

Last year Rivit Srl was acquired by Fervi Group, a collection of key players focused on supplying machinery and tools to the MRO sector. Here Guido Greco of Fervi Group talks about how the last 12 months have progressed for Rivit now it is part of the group.

How has Rivit been incorporated into Fervi Group since being acquired and how has the company looked to manage the current challenges within the market? 

“Over the last twelve months we have worked on integrating Rivit into the group of companies by reviewing the management and operating structure in a market context. This has been a long process, but our choices have been rewarded with satisfactory results in 2021 and up to September 2022.

During this time Covid-19 has certainly had a significant but limited impact, Rivit had already organised itself in the best possible way and had implemented all the actions to minimise the decline in activity, which meant that by the end of 2020 the volumes of activity had actually returned to pre-Covid levels. 

Another big factor has been transports costs – which had increased as a result of Covid-19 restrictions on an international level. However, these have also gradually returned to reasonable levels. A different long-term impact we are facing currently is the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and the impacts on energy costs. Whilst this has impacted Rivit, it does not fall into the energy intensive category.”

What new developments have recently taken place at Rivit and how will they help the company and its customers?

“As mentioned, thanks to the change in ownership, numerous and significant changes have taken place – particularly of an organisational nature. Resources of high managerial standing have entered that will contribute, in the short term, to the change of corporate culture – making customers increasingly the centre of attention with their technical, service and, naturally, price balance needs.

Our clients will also be looked after by a large and highly efficient team. The new organisation, by channels and by industry, makes it possible to give the best service to the customer in the context of an offer that in the fasteners sector can certainly be defined as the most complete for an Italian company. Our customers have access to over 65,000 product references – available for any need related to sheet metal fastening –
which are always available thanks to our automatic warehouse that can hold up to 56,000 locations. Our store in Ozzano, Italy, has also become a point of reference for local customers.

On the digitalisation front, numerous projects have already been launched at Rivit, including the complete overhaul of the website and the portal for order management, which is used by agents and customers. Numerous other projects will also be launched over the next few months.”

Where do you see opportunities for Rivit in the future?

“In recent months the market has been living in uncertainty and everything will depend on the impact that will have on industrial production in the last quarter and especially in 2023. The fastener sector will follow this trend with opportunities to be exploited in markets less exposed to the recent crises (North America, Middle East, etc) but the challenge of not losing ground in Italy and Europe will remain.”