Companies become big by investing in innovation, the quality of their products and skilled labour. This could be the motto for the Pittini group, which is based in Osoppo, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, and is a European leader in the steel machining and marketing sector.

Sir Andrea Pittini founded his first drawing factory, Ferriere Nord, fifty years ago. Now ten companies form part of the group, making cutting-edge products such as the special Reflex electro-welded wire meshes for road construction and maintenance. We asked the managing director, Federico Pittini, the reasons for group’s success and what projects they currently have in the pipeline.

How has the Pittini group grown so large?

It is due above all, I believe, to the fact that we have concentrated on our core business and opted for large-scale technical choices and investment strategies that have paid off over time. The group has also expanded due to a series of positive factors connected to our favourable geographical location, the local availability of qualified labour and our international market perspective. Our company, in fact, was already present in various foreign markets in the 1980s.

Are there any differences between Pittini and the other international competitors?
The fundamental differences are: the diversification of our products, our business organisation, through which our company is directly present in 30 foreign markets, now with a second generation of loyal personnel, and, finally, continuous technological investments, which make our company unique in terms of the number of patents from its production process.

Which foreign markets does the group deal with in particular?

We divide foreign markets into two categories: those that are served via rail or road transport and those that are served via sea freight. The first are the markets where we invest the most resources and which represent an important share of our group’s foreign trade, including all of Eastern Europe, from Germany to Greece. The markets served via sea freight are all the countries in the Mediterranean area. With these, a few clients per nation receive a shipment of the whole range of our products on a monthly basis and operate locally as national distributors.

Are there still unexplored markets that could present a challenge for the future?

Africa is certainly our future market, with large infrastructures and investments that are creating an exponential increase in local consumption.

What future projects is the group working on?

We need to move from distribution to direct production in areas close to the final market in order to defend and increase our market shares in the Eastern European countries. This is a project we have been working on for at least five years and which has to be implemented in the near future.