Thanks to Renzacci , a company from Città di Castello (Perugia), there is an Italian flavor to the industrial washing machinery and technology sector. Over more than 45 years of activity, the company has come to offer the most wide-ranging, complete and innovative range of solutions in the area of dry and water cleaning of clothing and textiles, as well as cleaning of metal and plastic components. The business currently employs 120 people.

“We were born with a talent for exports” explains Marco Niccolini, business and marketing director. “The solutions we create have a long life cycle, averaging 15 to 20 years: in order to remain on the market we need to keep our eye on the global market, as the domestic market is quickly saturated”. Exports are clearly crucial: in 2007 they represented 68% of profits, a value of 30 million euros (+10% compared to2006). “Our main markets – Niccolini continues – are the United States, Japan, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, India, Germany, Spain, France and Brazil”. This Italian company operates via an international network of distributors or importers. It sets itself apart by offering an extremely capillary after-sales assistance and replacement parts service through a network of stores touching 78 countries, thus achieving a truly efficient response to the needs of both the market and the clientele without regardless of time zones.

Renzacci sells its products in 108 countries. To reach such a high number of markets there is only one common denominator: low standardization. Indeed, the company’s solutions are characterised by a high level of customisation. «Every year – the business and marketing director explains – we sell approximately 7,500 industrial machines. And since we produce on order, the changes we need to make to adapt to each market can be substantial.” From one country to another, there could be changes to technical standards, specifications of electrical boards, legal provisions. “And that is not enough – says Niccolini – to meet the strictest requirements for the sector. Five New York boroughs, for example, require an additional approval in terms of how the solvents used during washing should be retrieved”.

Sectoral provisions are very stringent and this Italian company adds value to its products not only by guaranteeing a low use of polluting substances such as solvents, but also by offering low-maintenance mechanical solutions with high energy and water efficiency which can save the customer energy, water and time. “Machines that are able to satisfy a wide range of clients – Niccolini stresses – are no longer a consumer good: they become an investment and are therefore required to guarantee an economic ‘performance’ for the user.”

High mechanical quality; design (particularly appreciated, for example, in the great clothing and textile cleaning centers located inside malls, where there is direct contact with consumers); flexibility; customized solutions, and a wide range of machines. These are the company’s strengths which have made it the supplier of choice for a wide clientele, which includes for example not only thousands of dry cleaners, but also some of the world’s most prestigious hotel chains, hospitals and clinics, boarding schools, other kinds of large communities, the largest textile companies, the world’s best known makers of plastic components and high fashion accessories, as well as the prime manufacturers of metal parts and components for the automotive industry. “Through our lubrication division – Niccolini adds – we supply companies that make exhaust pipes for Porsche”.

Among the company’s strong points one cannot forget all the efforts made in the area of innovation. “Renzacci - says Niccolini – invests an average of 5% of annual turnover in research and development of new technologies, working on projects in cooperation with important international institutes for advanced research, polytechnics and universities. Only through innovation are we able to differentiate ourselves from our competitors, achieving savings on sourcing costs, increased productivity and using less space (a crucial element for success in markets like Japan and Hong Kong), and an extremely low dynamic load - which doesn’t shift too much weight onto the floor or create too much noise or too many vibrations”.