Made in Sala – valued worldwide
21 June 2017
Dwell for a moment on any one of the punches displayed by Sala Punzoni at Fastener Fair Stuttgart 2017, and it is hard not to sense an innate beauty. Ponder then on how it must perform with high precision time after time in the relentless environment of a cold heading machine. Worth asking how a small Italian family company achieves this level of exquisite functionality – and a global reputation for precision and reliability? We thought so.
Dario Sala is general director of Sala Punzoni Srl – so who better to answer our questions. The company proudly sustains the name of its founder, Mr Giovanni Sala, who in 1966 began developing his dream in an old building in Olginate, a small village in the Lecco region of northern Italy. The company continues to manufacture in the region, now occupying a modern, 4,000m2 production facility in Calolziocorte. Expansion was progressive. “In 1977 the company made its first move to a new plant of 1,200m2,” explains Dario. “In the nineties the company owners decided that the main production range should be punches and tools and we determined that we would devote our efforts to technological development.” From determination comes success and by 1991 Sala Punzoni needed to expand into new headquarters in Olginate. “In 2000 we made another move, this time to our current location in Calolziocorte. In 2005 we doubled the size of the plant to respond to constantly increasing demand from our customers.”
Today the company employs fifty people and is lead by three partners – Dario, Oscar and Mauro Sala. So what differentiates Sala and its products in a highly competitive global market? “In short, customisation and customer care,” says Dario. “Sala Punzoni cooperates closely with its customers to constantly find new technical solutions – ensuring the very highest efficiency of its tools. Based on more than fifty years experience, matured by that close and fruitful technical collaboration with our customers, Sala possesses excellent skills and professionalism that permit us to provide a rewarding technical consulting service. Through this commitment to technical support and its tight partnership with clients, Sala Punzoni has strengthened its expertise on the world market. Close collaboration is essential to give an excellent, now highly demanded and appreciated service to our customers, wherever they are in the world.”
Understandably, Dario Sala is reticent to disclose the precise technologies that deliver the consistent excellence for which Sala is renowned. “We have constantly invested in the most modern and up-to-date CNC machine tools, and in their technological development, which enables us to manufacture punches and tools with complex profiles; stricter and stricter tolerances; and very high-quality finishes,” he says. Investment in advanced robotics, combined with the depth of knowledge of Sala technicians, also ensures the highest levels of efficiency in manufacturing and delivery.
Visit virtually any fastener related event, from the Americas to Asia, and Sala Punzoni will be present. “We have actively taken part in Fastener Fairs around the world, initially to meet personally with potential customers. Now to renew, strengthen and enjoy the many well established relationships we have.”
“The market place, of course, is constantly changing. There are more customers around the world, more to explore and to develop. On one hand there are more competitors but there are also more opportunities to develop our business, so having a personal presence in all our major markets remains very important to us.”
What of the future? “In the coming years we expect greater demand for the high technology products, which have become the speciality of Sala Punzoni. No question we will also see competition from suppliers of lower quality products. In consideration of these realities, Sala Punzoni will, as usual, invest strongly in new, additional technologies.”
That investment combined with the continual growth in the business also means Sala Punzoni is about to embark on yet another enlargement increase of its production facility. “Today we are considering whether we should build a new headquarters or restructure and expand our existing facility,” says Dario. “What is for sure is that we will continue to develop new types of products and to invest in new and modern technologies and machinery.”
