Manufacturing Technology

With over 3,000 cold headers installed throughout the world, Carlo Salvi has become a leading supplier of machines for the fasteners industry – with its machines used by well-known producers of fasteners for the automotive, aerospace and petrochemical industries.

Established in 1939 by Mr Carlo Salvi, with the purpose of building mechanical descalers to process hot rolled rod, the company’s aim was to always manufacture new and more complex machines – with a new adventure beginning int the late 1940s through the design and production of Carlo Salvi’s first flat die thread roller. This was quickly followed by a family of head slotters until, finally, in 1952, the company built its first single die two blow toggle header.

Producing a reliable, low priced and high speed machine ensured that success was immediate, with the machine performing particularly well for the production of recessed head screws (Phillips and similar) – leading to a complete range of these machines being produced within just a few years.

From this point, the machines were exported throughout Europe with the main market, besides Italy, being Germany. In the early 1970s, Carlo Salvi decided to devote all its efforts to cold headers and discontinued the production of slotters and thread rollers. With that, a completely new line of single die, high-speed models was designed, followed by a range of single die two blow machines for semi-tubular rivets. Then, in the early 1980s, a line of single die two blow headers for fully tubular rivets was added. 

The growing success encouraged Carlo Salvi to develop multi-die machines and at the beginning of the 1990s a complete range of two die four blow and progressive headers was completed. By the end of the 1990s, the company had also established Carlo Salvi USA Inc in Toledo, Ohio – a modern facility equipped with advanced tooling machines, which had the aim to better serve the areas of North America, Canada and Mexico.

In additional to the new facility, Carlo Salvi also added well trained technicians, who were able to provide immediate technical support to rebuild machines, as well as a complete stock of spare parts – always available for immediate delivery. This enabled Carlo Salvi to build up a strong reputation in customer service.

Since the 1990s, Carlo Salvi has continued to invest in the development of new machines in order to build cold headers with innovative electronic systems – designed to provide the highest levels of performance output. Since then the company has developed a complete range of cold headers, up to six stations, capable of handling wire from 1mm to 22mm in diameter, and with the ability to process materials such as stainless steel, titanium and special alloys – in combination with induction pre-heating.

Carlo Salvi today

Part of the Swiss Hatebur Group, Carlo Salvi’s headquarters, in Garlate, Italy, covers an area of about 25,000m² – with every part of the business located here: The management, accounting and commercial offices, as well as its development department, the production area, the assembly room and the spare parts warehouse.

The company is known for its ability to offer turnkey solutions from a single source – with its entire production process having the flexibility to be tailored, managed and coordinated for the customer – from initial consultations, through development and manufacture, to customer service.

“Carlo Salvi forming machines offer enormous possibilities: Thread rolling, drilling, and tapping, are just a few of the many applications,” explains Federico Uslenghi, CEO at Carlo Salvi. “The forming machines are specifically developed to meet customer requirements and to master complex shapes without any problems.”

All Carlo Salvi headers are equipped with a management system that enables the processes to be monitored and controlled at any time via remote access. “We offer an extensive Industry 4.0 service package for maintenance and operation. For us, the interconnectedness also is an opportunity to continue to deepen our expertise and drive market expansion. Looking to the future, we will continue to increase investments in research and development.” 

An example of this commitment is Carlo Salvi engineers are currently working on a machine that combines high performance heading with a thread rolling unit. “This project is central because it creates a new product line and enables expansion into new industries,” points out Federico. 

Employees the backbone

Throughout its history Carlo Salvi has been aware of the crucial role that its employees and in-house know-how play in the growth and development of the company. “The employees are the backbone of Carlo Salvi, which is why we are striving to expand our team and to be able to welcome more highly specialised experts,” mentions Federico. “The planned recruitment of skilled workers affects various areas of the company, in organisation, management and development. As a leading company that is active in a niche, we always have to be prepared for new trends and market requirements. We want to have the answers before the questions are even asked. This requires an international team of experts and we believe that additional specialist staff, and investments in research and development, can give our company a further boost.”

Shaping the industry

Carlo Salvi has been shaping industry in the province of Lecco in northern Italy for more than 80 years, using experience, innovation and capability to ensure its machines, and the business, are an asset to customers. 

To also underline the importance of team spirit and solidarity, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, Carlo Salvi, in 2021, launched the digital project ‘Carlo Salvi Stories’ and it’s already working on the second edition. 

On the web portal www.carlosalvistories.com the numerous collaborations of the company; the successes in Italy and around the world; as well as the interpersonal collaboration; are in the spotlight. The value of human cooperation and the entrepreneurial spirit are two factors that are examined. The digital project, which is divided into different chapters, is based on the experiences of a storyteller – be it a customer, partner or employee of Carlo Salvi.

“The pandemic withheld a lot from us. The meetings in person, the handshakes, and the joint toasting of new contracts and collaborations. For this reason, we started ‘Carlo Salvi Stories’ – to celebrate the people we work with. It is essential to highlight these relationships and collaborations and to demonstrate authenticity and entrepreneurship,” concludes Federico.