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Source: EMT. Author: Antonio Biasi.
On 11th June, the fourth and last of the visits for the programme “Social Responsibility seen at close quarters: companies tell their stories". The company in question was Tecnogamma S.p.A., world renowned as leader in the development of high technology systems for diagnostics in the railway and steel industries. Tecnogamma, which has been operating in Badoere di Morgano (province of Treviso) since 1982, in 2008 became part of the MerMec Group along with MerMec SpA, Monopoli (Bari), MerMec Inc. (USA) and MerMec France (France).
The MerMec Group now has over 400 employees and their customers are active in 37 countries throughout the world. Its stock holdings and services are organized into five strategic business areas:
Diagnostics - planning, implementation, marketing and assistance for systems and machines for the integrated diagnostics of infrastructures and moving stock for overland railways, tramways and underground railways.
Signalling - planning, implementation and management of signalling systems and supervision of state-of-the-art overland and underground railways.
Asset Management and Maintenance Systems - planning, development and management of packages of software for analysis, the optimization and planning of maintenance and renewal of overland and underground railways, and tramways infrastructures.
State-of-the-art Services - supply and management of a wide range of services with the aim of giving support to customers over the entire maintenance cycle, from the carrying out of measuring with own diagnostic tools, to the analysis of the data gathered; planning of maintenance operations; control of the work carried out.
Diagnostics for the Steel Industry - planning, implementation, marketing and assistance of diagnostic systems for measuring, analysing and inspecting metal bars and sections produced by the steel industry, with specific solutions for producers of wheels and truck for railways.
The philosophy of Tecnogamma has always been:
• competence and dynamism which have made Tecnogamma leader in non-contact dimensional control due to innovative products and the quality and quickness of their answers to customers’ needs;
• co-operation with customers through technological partnership and sharing of know-how;
• assistance: in every phase of the development of products, including tests, installation activities, setting in motion, training of operators and technicians at the customer's offices;
• quality and reliability according to ISO 9001 and EFQM excellence model. All functions and components are laboratory tested simulating working conditions.
To put all this into action, Tecnogamma is investing in applied research and development. These have been carried out by a highly specialized staff of more than fifty people and collaboration with universities and research centres. Their aim is to converge proper technical and scientific skills on order to optimize the final result.
For the company, investing in research does not only represents the way towards growth, but also its survival in a context where competition both at home and abroad keeps on increasing.
To maintain and better its own position in the market, Tecnogamma is committed in development activity which allow it to sustain the high standard of innovation required.
Tecnogamma is listed as "research laboratory" in the University and Research roll, 1997, by Decree of the Italian Ministry of Education.
Interest for research has found more concrete and visible realization trough the company’s use of tools offered by the European Union.
Participation in European research projects has meant, and continue to means, a great opportunity for Tecnogamma, bringing the following advantages:
• a very good visibility for its product-service and a positive result in terms of image (the European Commission’s visiting card is seen favourably by counterparts and represent an important reference);
• the opportunity of working in a European project in collaboration with potential customers involved;
• the chance to create significant synergies and a strong network of collaboration with research centres and universities;
• the possibility of financial support for developing its ideas.
In innovation activities, Tecnogamma doesn't neglect ro respect the CSR themes. For example, in 2006 it was mentioned in the Best Product category in the Premio Impresa Ambiente for its system monitoring hot-rolled sections base on optic sensing, capable of checking in real-time any faults on the surface defects of the products issuing from the rolling mill, reducing waste of materials.
Of special importance in the ambit of CSR are the management of human resources, the organisational welfare and all various activities of social advancement made in the local area and beyond national borders.
Not less important is the strategic vision for an innovating society that came from the ideas of founder Ettore Casagrande, at the beginning in a small garage. The Managing director, Luciano Marton, put the history and future scenarios of the company well in evidence and the testing centre allowed participants to see some prototypes, at present being experimented, which could bring important innovation in the railway sector worldwide.
On leaving, shaking hands and exchanging goodbyes, there were requests to have other visits to companies in the future; the CSR and Environment Department of Treviso Chamber of Commerce is looking attentively into the matter.
Antonio Biasi
