Emmezeta expand into new premises

Emmezeta and sister company RotoPress will no longer be treading on each other's toes now that the two companies have recently acquired a new building behind their existing facilities in Arzignano, northern Italy. At present, the production facilities for the two companies are split in two: one company on one side of the warehouse and one company on the other. 'Space has most definitely become an issue and the new building will provide us with much needed room', explains Tommaso Incantalupo, sales executive. At the time of Leather International's visit, the companies were waiting for the former owners to vacate the building. Emmezeta bought RotoPress eleven years ago but, beyond the fact that both have the same managing director and obviously share the same production facilities, that is where the similarities end. Emmezeta specialise in the production of wet and dry toggling machines, automation systems, staking machines and wet sammying machines. RotoPress were the first producers of rotary ironing and ironing/ embossing presses and this is where the company still concentrate their expertise. Incantalupo explained that business is quiet for them at the moment, although there is more of a focus on their automation systems than their machines. 'In my opinion, automation systems are the way forward for tanners and there is still plenty of space to grow in this field. But the market can change for us. If we sell just one of our toggling systems, then that can make a difference to our annual turnover. 'We will be looking for signs of improvement at APLF as it is the one fair where you can really judge the market. In the past, we've been able to produce our machines well in advance of demand but now our production plans are shorter because it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict what our customers will order. 'The ratio of our business between Santa Croce and Arzignano was 50:50 two years ago. Now 80% of our domestic sales are to Santa Croce. Sales this year are on an equal level to last year but it is unlikely that we'll get back to the same levels of two years ago. That is not just our company, it is the industry in general. 'Today, the market is all about quality and after-sales service and this is something we are improving. We are also constantly upgrading our machines to make them easier for the operator.' Given that both companies produce different kinds of machines, they both have different export markets which they need to target. Emmezeta had some very important business from Brazil last year, with Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the US and Argentina being significant markets. 'China and India are important markets for RotoPress but not for us. We only have one machine in China because of the cost. An Emmezeta machine will cost around e30,000 and will only replace two people, so it is not cost effective. Japan is the only Asian market that is producing sufficient quantities of leather to warrant the price of our machines. The situation will change in Asia, and our machines will go there eventually, but not for a while yet.'