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Home > CANADA > Focus On
ITALIAN CUTLERY: A MIX OF CRAFTMANSHIP AND DESIGN
Worth over 130 million euros in annual turnover and based on the excellence of Italian craftmanship traditions, the Italian cutlery industry produces professional knives and cutting instruments for hunting and sports, surgeons, hairdressers and beauticians, as well as scissors and corkscrews. Nothing to do, therefore, with the knives and cutting instruments for domestic use (kitchen and gardening).
The sector is dominated by small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), 90% of which are located in two industrial districts: Maniago in Friuli Venezia Giulia and Premana in Lombardy. Each can boast of its specialisation: Premana concentrates almost exclusively on the manifacturing of scissors, while Maniago, in the province of Pordenone, is synonymous with knives.
"Our specialisation derives from a know-how which has accumulated over the years", explains Emilio Di Bernardo, President of the Knives District Development Agency and Mayor of Maniago. However, traditions are not enough. "We are the only one on the European scene who has created a quality trademark for our production, which we obtained in 1995", Di Bernardo recalls. As well as its trademark (www.qualitamaniago.it), the Friuli discrict has launched co-marketing initiatives with other leading Made in Italy products. As in the case of the typical Italian cheese Montasio. "The designers in the cutleries of Friuli created a knife that was purposefully designed to cut and bring the best out of Montasio cheese", recounts Di Bernardo. Similar initiatives are in the pipeline, linking, for example, Maniago knikes with San Daniele dry-cured ham. In 2006, the revenues from the district increased by 14% to about 91 million euros, while exports accounted for more than 30 million. The participating firms, almost all of which are SMEs, total around 150 and employ in total around 2,000 people.
As well as focusing on quality and innovative marketing strategies, the companies in the Friuli discrict have grasped that investing in research is unavoidable in order to conquer new markets, demonstrating that a traditional industry can renew itself and innovate. Artisan firms are constantly investing in R&D and exploring new niches. Their turnover, after the difficulties following 2001, has increased gradually in the last two years. "Demand from abroad has bounced back, especially in Germany but on the whole all over Europe", Di Bernardo explains. In non-established markets, however, it possible to reap rewards only through thorough research and attention to design. In the Middle East, for example, the imports of top end 'Made in Italy' - or rather 'Made in Maniago' - corkscrews are growing.
Differentiation and quality are also the key words for the Premana discrict near Lecco, which manufactures 13 million units every year (90% are scissors), has a turnover of around 40 million euros, created by around 40 firms which each employ four to five employees. The share of exports is very high, accounting for around two-thirds of all output. Germany and the US are the main export markets; Eastern Europe offers interesting perspectives while China is still an opportunity. "They are working on getting so far as the Far East", claims Dionigi Gianola, General Manager of the Premax Consortium which looks after the interests of the 42 firms present in the discrict and coordinates exports, development of new products, acquisition of raw materials and even serves as a retailer for its member companies. "Our strength is the Italian quality of craftmanship and the recourse to first-class raw materials, which is not the same as the one used by our competitors", adds Gianola. The plan for the future is to create a trademark to protect collectively the quality of our prdoucts.
In Italy, in fact, there are other 'hot spots' for the cutlery industry. Tuscany, for example, boasts the area of Scarperia on the outskirts of Florence, while Molise has Frosolone, in the province of Isernia. Lastly, the Sardinian locality of Guspini deserves a mention: it produces an artisan range of collectors' knives and last year it managed to deposit its trademark in the local Chamber of Commerce.
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