If it is true that medium-sized companies are the most dynamic and productive segment of Italian manufacturing, a textbook “best practice” comes from the province of Bergamo, from that district of the Sebino seals where more than 30 years ago Vittorio and Danilo Calissi founded Unigasket, a company specialized in the design and production of industrial pipes and gaskets in PTFE, silicone, thermoplastic polymers for various industrial applications.
75% controlled by Palladio Holding since 2018, the Bergamo-based company has accelerated its investment and growth path in recent years, both organically and externally, through acquisitions. Last year, this led it to reach almost 100 million euros in turnover (60% of exports), with around 500 employees and over 2,000 customers worldwide. In addition to the headquarters in Villongo, where it has a factory of approximately 16,000 m2, the group now also has two production sites in Romania and Poland, and a distribution network based on logistics bases and commercial branches in the United States, Hong Kong, India, Spain and the Netherlands.
The new year opened by immediately marking a step forward in this path which, explains the president Calissi, should lead the group to double its revenues in the next three years, as has happened in the last three, despite the stop marked by the pandemic. In fact, today Unigasket will sign the agreement to complete the acquisition of the majority of Mto Hose Solution, a US company based in Delaware (with a branch in Texas) active for over 20 years in the medical, aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical, chemical, semiconductor, and oil & gas industries, with revenues of approximately $10 million in 2022.
«The American market is one of the largest and most important for our sector – explains Calissi -. Over the years we have tried to grow and consolidate, but we immediately understood that we could be successful only through widespread distribution, with local offices. Thus, years ago, together with a US partner, we founded the MTO, in which we had, however, only held a minority share until now. Now, in conjunction with a generational handover in MTO, we have decided to invest further to take control of it, with the aim of strengthening our position in the US and becoming one of the leading groups in the sector in areas such as aerospace and semiconductors”.
Mto will be integrated into the group, following the model of what happened in 2021 with the acquisition of the Italian company Allegri Cesare and the Dutch company Polyfluor Plastic. «The strategic guidance of all the subsidiaries is in the hands of Unigasket», explains Simone Giovannelli, senior partner of PFH Palladio Holding. «The operation gives further impetus to the commercial development of the company’s products, which over the years has expanded its range and strengthened its leadership on the fluorinated polymers market, always remaining in the high range – adds Giovannelli -. Our products find application in many industrial segments, moreover Unigasket has a high know-how productivity and great knowledge of the market: all this allows us to seize the best opportunities around the world, even in small niches of added value».