It is often said, and rightly so, that numbers are not enough to describe a collaboration between two companies. In the case of Resteghini, a company based in Corsico (near Milan) and specialising in light civil and industrial precision metalwork with almost seventy years of history, some numbers, however, have such symbolic value that they are excellent starting points for getting to know this reality better. Let us start with the number four, like the generations of the Resteghini family that have been involved in this entrepreneurial adventure.
"It all began in 1955 at the hands of my grandfather Bruno," Sergio Resteghini, today owner of the company together with his sister Claudia, explained,"who, in a small space in the centre of Milan, began welding and finishing metal products destined for the food, telephone and electrical equipment industries. The technological transformation and growth were very rapid, suffice it to say that in just a few years we went from a horse-drawn cart delivering already bent metal sheets to cutting and bending machines, first manual and then mechanical". Bruno's son Valter was immediately involved in the company, and in a short time his wife Virginia also started working with them, while Resteghini grew, arriving in Corsico in 1974 with its own, larger shed. "Obviously, I too started being present in the workshop early on, first in the summer learning the various processes, and then from 1984 joining the company on a continuous basis. After a few years, my sister Claudia also started working with us". These were years of great dynamism for Resteghini, which increasingly expanded its range of machining operations, becoming a supplier of switchboards, lecterns and enclosures for electrical equipment, and increasingly innovated its machine park. "For our family, the aim has always been to innovate one aspect of the company every year: we are subcontractors and for us investing is essential to be competitive in the market. Resteghini therefore evolves continuously, but does so gradually and without any jolts". Graduality therefore, but also entrepreneurial vision and passion, elements which lead the Milanese company to anticipate all technological breakthroughs with major investments, among which the laser cutting system stands out.
LASER PIONEERS
To describe this turning point in the company's history we can use another number: 2, the serial number of the Platino laser which Prima Power, then Prima Industrie, installed at Resteghini in January 1996. "When we installed the first laser cutting machine, we decided to go with Prima Power. That was an important moment for both companies; it was the first Platino model machine they marketed and the advent of the laser radically changed the way we worked with sheet metal. This collaboration has made an important contribution in improving the performance of Prima Power's laser, while on our side it has meant constant growth, leading us to introduce new technologies. For example, the increase in the number of parts cut thanks to the high productivity of lasers has led us to invest in new bending machines to avoid a bottleneck in production".
The plural referring to lasers anticipates the choices made by Resteghini in terms of investments: in short, the first 1.5 kW Platino with a fixed table was replaced by a 2.5 kW machine with a double table, to then arrive at a 3 kW Platino laser, also by Prima Power, with a storage tower of 10 drawers able to feed the machine without supervision.
"This whole process," Sergio Resteghini confirmed, "has been carried out together with Prima Power, which has supported us with its technological expertise, and following a strong impulse from my father, who was always farsighted when it came to innovation. Suffice it to say that he had a great passion for IT and programming, which allowed him to create programs we still use today with the obvious updates". In 2015, Resteghini took another important step forward by choosing to equip itself with an automatic Night Train warehouse, the storage solution from Prima Power which enabled the management of the raw material and the servicing of two cutting machines in a single flexible process and which Resteghini installed in the version with over 100 drawers.
In addition to the advantages of automating the cutting processes, the Night Train was also instrumental in overcoming another critical issue for the Milan-based company: lack of space. The vertically developed Prima Power plant can, in fact, handle a large quantity of sheet metal with a relatively small footprint. "We now have two Platino laser cutting machines, one with fiber technology and the other with CO2 laser source with 1500x3000 mm working fields capable of cutting mild steel sheets up to 20 mm, stain- less steel up to 15 mm as well as various alloys such as aluminium, brass, titanium and copper. Thanks to Prima Power technologies, we are able to guarantee flexibility, speed and traceability of the cutting phase, responding to any urgent needs of our customers without compromising the efficiency of the entire department". Completing the cutting department is an automatic sanding and finishing machine capable of carrying out finishing operations.
DIGITISING IN ORDER TO GROW
Digitising in order to grow Another key number to get to know Resteghini and which characterises its market approach is still 4, or rather 4.0. "We do what we consider to be really useful for the company and our customers, without following trends or with the sole aim of receiving state incentives," Sergio Resteghini explained, "and even in the case of Industry 4.0 we have acted according to this approach. After all, Resteghini was 4.0 even before this term was coined, we actually adopted a management software since 2016 and did so because we were convinced that it would bring benefits to all aspects of our business'. What for many mechanical and carpentry workshops was a difficult and often painful time, for Resteghini was a natural evolution.
"It was certainly an important step, but we had reached a point where without a management software we would not have been able to manage the volume of articles, materials and codes we had in production. Today, the management software is such an integral part of the way we work and produce that I wonder how we used to work without it". Besides being connected to the most important plants, the management software adopted by Resteghini allows all cycle times to be recorded by barcode and to have full visibility and traceability on any activity or product being processed. The entry of the fourth generation, consisting of Samuele Resteghini, mechanical engineer, and Simone Bandini, data scientist, has also marked a further step forward in the 4.0 development.
"Today," the two young technicians explained, "we are increasingly efficient in all aspects of production; we have developed alert systems to improve the timeliness of the delivery of machined parts and real-time monitoring of all production processes. In addition, we analyse the collected data in a structured way in three directions: document quality, business intelligence with dashboards supporting strategic business decisions and, finally, in terms of data science, that is, data analysis processes in an automated and optimised way'.
THE CHALLENGE OF THE PANEL BENDER
The last number we choose on our journey into the world of Resteghini is 2023. We are referring to the year in which the Prima Power BCe 2720 panel bender was installed, the first machine of this type for the Milan-based company. " I am certain that the introduction of the panel bender, a machine which has always fascinated me, will be yet another quality leap for us thanks to Prima Power. In these first months of use, we are already seeing the advantages of what I consider to be a new world compared to traditional folding: there are many advantages, both in terms of productivity and quality. For example, we can produce batches even of limited series with very high repeatability thanks to the angle control which guarantees that the part produced always has the required characteristics. This is fundamental in both small batches and very large parts, because it means being efficient without wasting materials and minimising downtime".
The BCe 2720 panel bender by Prima Power is a highly automated machine, once the program is prepared, the bending process is very fast and does not require a highly skilled operator to ensure maximum repeatability of the part. "Prima Power's servo-electric technology together with the angle control provides the guarantee that even the first part is executed correctly without any surprises. Furthermore, a panel bender handles a small part in the same way as a much larger one: this consideration may seem trivial, but it is amazing when we think what it means to bend a 400x400 mm square in the traditional way compared to a 2,500x1,000 mm sheet, both in terms of automatic machine set-up and the number of operators required.
We can exploit the digitisation of the process, which also allows us to work more safely and ergonomically. Besides, the LUT loading and unloading table allows the next workpiece to be loaded in masked time while the panel bender processes the workpiece. This means that the operators do not always have the workpiece in their hands, as is the case with a traditional bending machine, and can perform other processes while the machine is busy, such as inserting a stud, with great benefits in terms of process optimisation." In terms of technical specifications, the BCe 2720 has a maximum bending length of 2.75 m, can process sheets of up to 2.85x1.5 m, with a maximum bending height of 204 mm and a maximum retract bend of 55 mm.
FLEXIBILITY AND QUALITY, THE SECRETS OF SUCCESS
Resteghini is today a pure subcontractor, able to process materials of all types and sizes even for small batches and catering to different sectors: from railway to medical, through food and lighting. Besides the great attention to technological innovation, another element characterising Resteghini is undoubtedly the decision to equip itself with an in-house technical department capable of supporting the customer even in the creation of a prototype or the engineering of a part. "In this way we provide a service which is appreciated by the market," the owner Sergio Resteghini confirmed, "but we are also able to maximise the effectiveness of our production technologies.
The prerequisite is obviously that the customer should be willing to collaborate, but we notice that increasingly often large companies are particularly receptive to this. It would seem more difficult to collaborate effectively when the customer does not have the minimum skills in terms of sheet metal working, but it is precisely in these cases that, thanks to our experience and the support we offer, we are able to build customer loyalty with relationships lasting over time". An ISO 9001, UNI EN 3834 and UNI EN 15085 (CL1) certified company for welding in the railway sector, Resteghini offers its customers a wide range of processing thanks to a fleet of machines which includes, in addition to the Platino laser machines and the BCe 2720 panel bender from Prima Power, also punching machines, bending machines and a department specialising in surface finishing and welding with four TIG MIG stations for welding mild steel, stainless steel and aluminium.
