arguing with siblings over the television remote: these are some of the things that Italian teenagers do after school on a Friday In the tower of a parish church in Limbiate a group of young bellringers aged from 13 to 22 tug on ropes as a leader calls out their numbers A smartphone placed at one ringer’s feet records the spectacle for thousands of online followers As other ancient skills such as glassblowing and stone masonry face an uncertain future across the continent, a craze for campanology has caught on in Lombardy with new bellringing recruits determined to keep the tradition alive and share it online Michael Scerri’s long wait for a new guide dog finally came to an end this month when he travelled with KM Malta Airlines to Milan’s Linate airport and from there to Limbiate − where the Lions Club have a guide dog school − to meet and undergo final training with Bluey The two-year-old male champagne-coloured labrador will now enable him to regain his independence after his previous guide dog Scerri was accompanied by Sliema Lions Club treasurer Alexander Arena who has been working for a number of years to coordinate with Limbiate for the dog to be identified and matched with a local handler They had first travelled to Limbiate in 2022 when Scerri underwent tests but it was only last month that the Sliema Lions Club was informed that a dog had been identified that would be suitable for Scerri The local club then had to work fast to coordinate the trip because they had just four weeks to ensure that Scerri could travel to undergo the final training and return to Malta with Bluey “Michael passed through this assessment process with flying colours,” Arena said on arrival following their KM Malta Airlines return flight from Linate “The fact that Michael had all this experience also meant that the dog needed to be of a certain high level.” Arena said every morning they underwent a three-hour training session that started at Limbiate and then over the days progressed to trips to Milan on buses and even walked among crowds of people,” Arena said and you had to make an effort to keep up with him and the guide dog because they would be off otherwise.” Scerri met the puppy walker who gave him Bluey’s favourite toy and the day before they arrived Michael and his guide dog trainer officially graduated – for the guide dog trainer Scerri thanked the Sliema Lions Club for ‘staying the course’ and donating a guide dog He also had words of praise for Arena for taking the time to accompany him to Milan during his 10 days of final training Scerri now faces the daunting challenge of navigating local roads with often inaccessible pavements which Bluey has been trained to find and walk on Malta to host 26th annual ASSEDIL congress of Lasallian educational leaders please register for free or log in to your account 30 September 2022 saw the closure of the historic Milan-Limbiate line witness to a vast network that had been in operation since the end of the 19th century and unfortunately now suppressed.Opened in 1882 from Milan to Affori in horse-drawn traction the line was then taken over by Edison in […] the line was then taken over by Edison in 1900 which proceeded with its immediate electrification still today the site of the depot and a substation management of the line had passed to STEL (Societa’ Trazione Elettrica Lombarda) The terminus in Milan was moved in 1932 from Porta Volta to Piazzale Marengo near today the site of the Strehler theatre The 1950s saw a double move of the terminus in 1952 from Piazzale Marengo back to Porta Volta and in 1958 to Via Valtellina a large terminus shared with the lines to Carate and Milanino The Porta Volta terminus was soon used by buses of the B and C lines The ring at Piazzale Marengo was used by the Milan – Bruzzano line ran along Via Vincenzo da Seregno and stopped at what is now Piazza Fortunato and was identified by Roman numerals (first the XVIII then the IV) In 1961 the line was included in the grid of urban lines and was renumbered 9 along with the Milano Monza and Milano Corsico the tramway underwent two major route changes The first was the relocation of the route to the then new Viale Rubicone The route was reduced by 400 metres and the 40 per cent ramp was eliminated in addition to the construction of its own seat the route between the village and the hospital was changed which was reached from the opposite side.The single-track line benefited from a number of doubles 600 V direct current.The rolling stock consisted mostly of the ‘Desio’ and ‘Reggio Emilia’ engines  and their trailers.Between 1978 and 1981 with the abolition of the Gorgonzola – Vaprio /Cassano  and the Milan – Vimercate lines  on the Milano Limbiate were transferred  blocked trains 3 pieces with a traction unit in the middle obtained from the transformation of ordinary material dating back to the 1940s and 1950s; the 1941 series 800 traction units (then the most powerful in Italy) and 1953 series 500 were used The material was transformed between 1961 and 1964 by the ATM General Workshops and five trainsets have served in practice to date.The need to extend the construction sites for the third underground line in Piazzale Maciachini and Via Imbonati led to the closure of the section between Via Valtellina and Via Vincenzo da Seregno in 1999 effectively isolating the line from the rest of the network creating an excellent interchange with the underground but eliminating the Viale Rubicone section which could have been used for the extension to the new Niguarda hospital emergency room was 11.6 km long.Although the line performed a valuable task it was unfortunately never the subject of radical intervention; in 2006 a tender for the necessary reconstruction into a LRT was postponed due to lack of funds; It was only in 2017 that some maintenance work was carried out including the replacement of deteriorated sleepers and the replacement of some bell-shaped horns with traffic lights interventions that made it possible to extend the service until 30 September 2022 The EUR 6 million needed to maintain the service For the complete redevelopment of the line to which another 24 million euros will probably have to be added The tender for the purchase of new rolling stock and the contract will be awarded to the Swiss company Stadler in 2020 for an initial batch of 10 cars The new rolling stock  will allow various performances The project to upgrade the line from Comasina to Varedo Fundamental is the redevelopment of the infrastructure which must be with high platform so as to guarantee flush-mounted rolling stock; the new track bed will allow an increase in commercial speed The Varedo depot can be equipped with all the necessary equipment and there are several examples of small but completely autonomous facilities such as the Agno depot of the Lugano Ponte Tresa railway An important intervention will certainly be the securing of driveways and crossings increasing reserved lane sections and adopting the traffic light system Valuable references are the German Stadtbahn such as Basel Land Transport’s line 11 from Basel to Aesch which will also be used on the future urban section of Lugano and the lines that from the urban section continue into the suburban area The latter is rated 6 by the operator Bernmobil It derives from the merger of two partly overlapping lines which ran from the Fishermatteli district to Ostring and the suburban Bern Helvetiaplatz – Worb The current line has a journey time of 40 minutes Approximately half of the line is single-track also taking advantage of a long doubling at Gumligen 15 minutes in the evening and on public holidays The presence of the single track does not cause any problems for operation the doubling of the stops and the long doubling at Gumlihgen are used The stops must be equipped with the necessary information.In Italy good examples are the Bergamo Albino tramway and the Cagliari – Repubblica – Policlinico ( Metrocagliari)  reconstructed on the urban section of the narrow-gauge railway to Isili A 4-km extension to Settimo San Pietro is used promiscuously by CAF vehicles The 12.5-kilometre Bergamo Albino was inaugurated in 2009 by exploiting the Valle Seriana track which was in operation between 1884 and 1967 operated by TEB (tranvie elettriche bergamasche) crosses the urban section of Bergamo as far as Alzano Lombardo and the extra-urban section as far as Albino has 14 intermediate stops (7 of which are in the municipality of Bergamo) in addition to the two terminuses and the operating mode has allowed the insertion of new stops.All road and pedestrian crossings are served by the tram Passages are every 15 minutes during soft hours and 5 minutes during peak periods The grassed track covers about 70 % of the route have been included in an urban redevelopment context with a capacity of 230 seats of which 62 are seated and already in 2010 the number of passengers transported reached an average of 8,300 with peaks of 12,400; the punctuality index of journeys reached 99% There has been a significant decrease in the number of cars entering Bergamo on the route and the T2 line from Bergamo to Villa d’Alme’ is now nearing completion as well as the extension of the T1 line from Albino to Vertova The nearby example clarifies the potential of the Milano Limbiate and also of the Milano – Desio – Seregno could easily repeat the success of the Bergamo tramway © Copyright 2012 - 2025 | Vado e Torno Edizioni | All rights reserved | P.I Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here pose for a photo during a visit to the Sant’Egidio Community Dream center in Kinshasa an Italian carabineri police officer and their Congolese driver were killed Monday in an attack on a U.N convoy in an area that is home to myriad rebel groups the Foreign Ministry and local people said Italy’s ambassador to the country since 2017 carabinieri officer Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver were killed United Nations peacekeepers guard the area where a U.N convoy was attacked and the Italian ambassador to Congo killed The Italian ambassador to Congo Luca Attanasio poses for a photo during a visit to the Sant’Egidio Community Dream center in Kinshasa Italian Carabinieri officer Vittorio Iacovacci and their Congolese driver were killed Monday in an attack on a U.N This picture released by the Italian Carabinieri Press Office on Monday shows late Carabinieri officer Vittorio Iacovacci who was killed in an ambush on Monday together with the Italian Ambassador to Congo Luca Attanasio Their Congolese driver was killed too in an area that is home to myriad rebel groups The vehicle in which the Italian ambassador to Congo was killed the gate of the United Nations base where the Italian ambassador to Congo was taken after the convoy in which he was traveling was attacked The gate of the United Nations hospital where the Italian ambassador to Congo was taken after the convoy in which he was travelling was attacked CORRECTS PHOTOGRAPHER BYLINE - United Nations peacekeepers guard the area where a U.N broken glass sits in the footwell of the vehicle in which the Italian ambassador to Congo was killed United Nations peacekeepers remove bodies from an area near to where a U.N an Italian Carabineri police officer and their Congolese driver were killed Monday in an attack on a U.N Local residents observe as United Nations peacekeepers guard the area near to where a U.N United Nations peacekeepers and Congolese forces guard an area leading to where bodies were found near to where a U.N A member of the Congolese military searches an area leading to where bodies were found near to where a U.N an Italian carabinieri police officer and their Congolese driver were killed Monday in an attack on a U.N A view of the house of the Attanasio family in Limbiate Congo (AP) — The Italian ambassador to Congo an Italian Carabinieri police officer and their Congolese driver were killed Monday when gunmen attacked a U.N convoy traveling to a school in eastern Congo the Italian Foreign Ministry and residents said serving at the Italian embassy in the country since 2017 Carabinieri officer Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver Moustapha Milambo were killed Other members of the convoy were wounded and taken to a hospital Congo’s interior ministry said four others in the convoy were kidnapped but one person has since been found by Congo’s army The ambush occurred as the convoy was traveling from Goma The WFP said the attack occurred on a road that had been cleared previously for travel without security escorts and it was seeking more information from local officials on the attack Eastern Congo is home to myriad rebel groups all vying for control of the mineral-rich Central African nation that is the size of Western Europe vehicles were hijacked by the attackers and taken into the bush The Congolese army and park guards for Virunga National Park came to help those who had been attacked The attackers fired at the bodyguard and the ambassador,” the governor said according to a statement by Congo’s Interior Ministry Mission in Congo hospital where he died from his wounds Italian state TV on Monday night said the convoy apparently was the target of a kidnapping attempt with the aim of securing ransom money left behind a wife and three young children The attack occurred in the same area where two Britons were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in 2018 There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack Congo’s Interior Ministry has blamed the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda the Rwandan Hutu rebel group known as FDLR The interior ministry said the provincial authorities of North Kivu were not aware of the presence of the Italian ambassador which did not allow them to provide him with security measures Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi gave his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and has called for an investigation so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice More than 2,000 civilians were killed last year in eastern Congo in violence by armed groups whose brutal attacks have also displaced over 5.2 million people in what the U.N calls one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises sent her condolences and promised the Italian government that the Congolese government would do all it could to find those behind the killings Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Mario Draghi also expressed their condolences to the victims’ families Flags at Italian government buildings were ordered to fly at half-staff Monday and Tuesday “The circumstances of this brutal attack are still unclear and no effort will be spared to shed light on what happened,” Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Di Maio hurried back from a European Union ministerial meeting in Brussels to Rome to discuss the attack with Draghi The Rome prosecutors’ office investigates crimes abroad against Italians A specialized Carabinieri unit was expected to arrive on Tuesday in Kinshasha to help in the Italian investigation Attanasio was assigned to the Embassy in Kinshasa in September 2017 he was awarded the Nassiriya International Prize for Peace in a ceremony held in a church in southern Italy Attanasio was cited for “having contributed to the realization of important humanitarian projects dedication and the spirit of service for people in difficulty,” the La Repubblica newspaper reported It quoted Attanasio as saying that “all that which we take for granted in Italy isn’t in Congo Attanasio described the role of the ambassador is “above all to be close to the Italians but also to contribute to achieving peace.” Around 1,000 Italians live in Congo Congo suffered through one of the world’s most brutal colonial reigns before undergoing decades of corrupt dictatorship Back-to-back civil wars later drew in a number of neighboring countries Congo experienced its first peaceful democratic transfer of power since independence in 1960 following the election of President Felix Tshisekedi peacekeeping mission has been working toward drawing down its more than 17,000-troop presence in the country and transfer its security work to Congolese authorities “These tragic killings highlight the insecurity in eastern Congo,” in an area that has seen a rise in kidnappings consulting fellow with the Chatham House Africa Program It took place on one of the main roads from Goma a well-traveled road that is generally viewed as secure adding that it would be difficult to know at this point if it was a random opportunistic attack on a convoy or a planned attack peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told a previously planned news conference Monday that the determination of whether roads are safe is normally made by U.N He said he had no details on “the exact unfolding of the incident.” By 2024-03-26T12:12:00+00:00 ITALY: The national government has allocated €145m to help fund a 3·3 km western extension of Milano metro Line M1 from Bisceglie to Valsesia Olmi and Baggio at an estimated cost of €543m It has also allocated €88m towards the anticipated refurbishment of the Comasina – Limbiate interurban light rail line at an estimated total cost of €179m The 1 445 mm gauge route has been out of service since September 2022 but 10 new trams are already on order as part of ATM’s framework contract for up to 80 Stadler Tramlink vehicles signed in September 2020 The city’s Mobility Councillor Arianna Censi told local media that confirmation of the government funding contributions would allow tenders to be called later this year for work to start by the beginning of 2025 The metro extension is expected to take 5½ years to complete and the light rail line 3½ years ITALY: Milano’s metro Line M4 has been extended 7·8 km west from San Babila around the south of the city centre and on to San Cristoforo Minister of Infrastructure & Transport Matteo Salvini and Milano Mayor Beppe Sala were among the dignitaries at the inauguration on .. ITALY: Construction started on February 16 on the initial 1·3 km Cascina Gobba – Quartiere Adriano section of Milano’s tangential tramway linking districts to the north of the city The Metrotranvia Interquartiere Nord project involves extensions at both ends of an existing tramway in the north .. ITALY: The national Ministry of Infrastructure & Transport announced on September 27 that it had allocated €362·1m towards the completion of tram Line 12 in Torino extension of the Genova metro and safety improvements on three metro lines in Milano Site powered by Webvision Cloud For SACMA Group this has been a summer of looking to the future – which is far from unusual for a company long committed to occupy the leading edge in fastener manufacturing technology – and looking back with a mixture of sorrow but also intense pride 1939 witnessed the foundation of SACMA Limbiate as a small manufacturing business the brainchild of engineer Valeriano Rampezzotti It also saw the birth of Mr Rampezzotti’s son,Giancarlo who took the helm in the 1960s and was largely responsible for the adoption ofnew concepts in production and machine assembly which drove accelerated growth in SACMA’s fortunes and reputation in the field of fastener manufacturing machinery On 17th May 2017 Giancarlo Rampezzotti (pictured) passed away inevitably causing widespread sorrow amongst his relatives but also the wider family of the SACMA Group is an evidently profound pride in the passion that engineered the transition from a small workshop to global leadership in cold forming and thread rolling technologies SACMA developed its first machine for manufacturing woodscrews designed and manufactured an economical car eventually purchased by an automotive group abroad SACMA started committing strongly to the production of machines for manufacturing fasteners and deepened its roots in the city of Limbiate all the components to build the SACMA machines are manufactured in-house ensuring total control of the quality of all the parts all belonging to SACMA Group – the impressive main cold former plant in Limbiate; the OBM plant at Vimercate which concentrates on the manufacturing of the smaller parts; and at Castelnuovo Scrivia where the Ingramatic thread rollers are assembled A fascinating tour of the SACMA facility is to immediately comprehend two of the core principles Giancarlo Rampezzotti instilled in SACMA First is the direct and complete control of the manufacture and assembly of its machines from the receipt of the core castings throughto final commissioning to fulfil the customers’ exact requirements The second is the continuous investment in technology and in a skilled workforce Underlying both is what SACMA Group Commercial Director Enrico Brigatti describes as “an unswerving dedication to manufacturing perfection” – part of the shining example set by Giancarlo Rampezzotti to which the next generation of SACMA management is wholly committed Valeriano Rampezzotti is succinct on that score: “We already have our investment strategy mapped out for the next five to six years.” Valeriano is based in Limbiate His sister Nicole Elena is also a member of the board but is based in SACMA Machinery Corporation The chief executive officer for the Group,and also cousin of both SACMA essentially builds standard machines with the final 10 percent of the design and assembly customised to the fastener or parts manufacturers’ requirements The implications of that philosophy are evident throughout the plant and at all stages of manufacturing In the rear yard rows of core castings – the resolute heart of all SACMA and Ingramatic machines – are ‘seasoned’ for up to eighteen months Standardisation means SACMA is able to source depending on the size of the ultimate machine between six to fifteen cores at a time from carefully selected forges The entire complex machining of the main frames is carried out at Limbiate That includes even the smallest machining such as small holes even though they could be carried out on the shop floor in order to ensure absolute accuracy and consistency The largest CNC centre has a 10m long bed and 130 tonne capacity to accommodate the main frames for SACMA’s largest cold formers smaller machines surround it but much of the complex machining is carried out on a robotic Mazak machining centre A long cage holds 65 ‘pallets’ each with an operation set up during the day shift select appropriate tooling from a massive ‘library’ seven days a week.An additional new 45-pallet machining centre is currently being built with commissioning in Japan expected this autumn and installation at Limbiate planned in 2018 That level of investment reflects a SACMA philosophy to replace production machinery every ten to fifteen years rather than tolerate any fall off in accuracy or increase in maintenance costs Everything about a SACMA machine is built for longevity – just one obvious indicator is the depth of the bronze surfaces installed onto the main frame With the exception of electronics sourced from Siemens and ABB and held in stock to provide immediate availability The Group also holds 100% of spares as inventory Even with SACMA’s levels of standardisation that is a massive stockholding but one that ensures not only highly efficiency production in the plants but also total assurance of support for machines in the field that SACMA machines have a habit of failing in use which derive up to half their revenues from spares and service these activities only represent 7% for SACMA.” It’s a figure that will rise in coming years simply as a function of rapidly growing worldwide population of SACMA and Ingramatic machines but he still does not expect it to exceed 10% “It means the machines are running well and continuously Our customers rarely need the support of a technician from SACMA ship spares to the customer and they can have their machine back in production within a few hours of receipt “We are conservative innovators,” he goes onto explain “We do make innovations but it takes a while When we do have something ready it is ready for thirty years not ten.” All of which explains not just SACMA’s continuous programme of investment in production technology but also in research and development “In R&D we don’t just design the machine creating drawings and manufacturing methodology.” A secure document storage system next to the design office stores drawings for every SACMA part ever produced duplicates are held at the family home and in a separate off-site facility SACMA has adopted Industry 4.0 principles and there are no drawings to be seen –instead there are carefully positioned via which engineers can access all of the drawings and specifications they require With sub-assembly completed the machine modules are brought together on a series of final assembly lines each dedicated to a different size machine and on each of which a number of machines are nearing completion on the largest scale assembly line this summer SACMA had four Size 6 machines – two 31mm and two 33mm diameter capacity Across all the assembly lines the final destinations of the machine underscore SACMA’s global market – with machines destined for European Will joined Fastener + Fixing Magazine in 2007 and over the last 15 years has experienced every facet of the fastener sector - interviewing key figures within the industry and visiting leading companies and exhibitions around the globe Will manages the content strategy across all platforms and is the guardian for the high editorial standards that the Magazine is renowned Thanks for visiting A serious accident in Brianza caused the death of a 22-year-old Albanian while there are doubts about a speed race between supercars. The victim has been identified as Arnold Selishta who was traveling as a passenger in the SUV that had an accident. According to the Italian media while the 22-year-old was taken out alive by the firemen which is why he died immediately afterwards in San Hospital Gerardo in Monza. With him were two other very young people who were injured Investigators investigate the hypothesis of a high-speed race between a Range Rover and a BMW Plenary Session Terminated after Tensions in Assembly Hall Opposition MPs Climbed through Windows to Enter Assembly Offices Tirana-Besiktas Match Suspended Due to Incidents Strong Security Measures for Bill Clinton's Visit in Tirana DP Accuses PM of Ignoring Albanians Living in Survival Conditions The Italian ambassador in the Democratic Republic of Congo killed in an attack against a convoy of the United Nations in Kanyamahoro about twenty kilometers from the city of Goma had given testimony of faith (shahada) during his stay in Morocco as General Consul of Italy in Casablanca the Italian diplomat had also adopted the name Amir The news has been confirmed to La Luce by reliable sources close to the family The Italian Muslims are committed to send their condolences and to make them feel their closeness both to the institutions and to the families of Attanasio and Vittorio Iacovacci both the national organization and the local communities of Brianza When asked about the story of Ambassador Attanasio Imam of the Maria Mosque in Milan (Cascina Gobba) clarified that Luca Attanasio must be considered for all intents and purposes a martyr because he was killed as innocent and because he was killed as part of his humanitarian commitment Some Islamic communities they celebrated on Friday the Salat al ghaib the prayer for the deceased in his absence for Attanasio and for his driver Mustapha Milambo and they attended today his funeral in Limbiate a 43 years old diplomat originally from Limbiate lost his life in an attack that took place on February 22 2021 while he was travelling in a car that was part of a Monusco convoy (the UN mission to stabilise the Democratic Republic of Congo) The area borders with Uganda and Rwanda and many rebel and criminal groups operate there including the Hutus of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda at war with the government in Kigali and Lord’s Resistance Army a bloodthirsty Ugandan armed Christian group led by Joseph Kony; for this reason the responsibility of the attack has not yet been ascertained Luca Attanasio had been in charge of the Italian Consulate in Casablanca in 2010 and in the North African country he had met his wife Zakia Seddiki an activist for women and children human rights In 2017 Attanasio was appointed ambassador in Kinshasa and in Congo Zakia founded the NGO Mama Sofia that helps thousands of Congolese street children the couple in fact considered humanitarian work a real mission and they were absolutely committed as all the friends and collaborators of Luca Attanasio and Zakia Seddiki have told in the past few days Italy loses one of its great servants and a great man who honored the country and its role we belong to God and to Him we shall return SOSTIENICI This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page SACMA Group has further expanded its manufacturing expertise to now include secondary operations and loading systems for fastener machines – enabling it to supply machinery for all aspects of fastener production SACMA Group now consists of five quality established brands – SACMA and most recently added Tecno Lift and HS ASPE “Through these five different brands we can cover and satisfy any fastener needs,” states SACMA Group “A customer can contact us and whatever fastener they want – we can supply all the necessary machinery To be able to offer this type of service to our customers is unique within the market and we are very excited about the future.” Adding secondary operation capabilitiesThe most recent addition to the Group was at the end of 2019 when 50% of HS Automazioni Srl was acquired – adding a host of new secondary operation capabilities four key lines include tapping machines dedicated to high volume production with up to four spindles; as well as combined and transfer machines for machining operations chamfering and others operation in addition to tapping Then there is the family of turning machines with double spindle turning machine and the multi-spindle machines – with up to 8 spindles to run the final operations of the parts formed on SACMA progressive headers “We sell machines to every country in the world and everywhere we went we had customers approaching us and saying they wanted to make special complex parts – particularly in the automotive tier 1 markets,” explains SACMA “At some point you just have to recognise the demand is there and say ‘who is making the best secondary operation machines on the market?’ That’s how we found HS Automazioni and we haven’t looked back since.” “The market and potential for HS ASPE is huge and with the association to SACMA – the brand and the quality – we think we will be able to reach more customers looking for flexible machines from a reliable source.” Having been part of the Group for several months processes and strategies that have made SACMA Group successful “Initially we held off promoting the acquisition as we wanted to make sure we could get the products and service to meet our standards,” points out SACMA “Because we are SACMA the customers have higher expectations as they know the level of products and service we can provide That is why we have held off announcing it until now.” Two key machines available from HS ASPE includes the tapping machine model T10-HC-M – dedicated to high volume production with a flexible system to run two different parts on the same machine – as well as the TDS-42 which is a double spindle turning machine to run the final operations of the parts formed on the SP470-CR The developments for HS ASPE don’t stop there as the Group has big plans for the brand going forward “We already have plans in full swing for a new state of the art factory at HS ASPE’s current location in Turin which we are hoping will be completed by September 2020 This will enable the brand to take the next step in its journey.” Facilitating the production processThe addition of HS ASPE followed the acquisition of Tecno Lift Srl in 2018 after SACMA Group bought the company outright in order to increase production and incorporate Tecno Lift further into the Group “Tecno Lift designs and manufactures elevators hoppers and belts for feeding machine tools in the production of screws high-quality staff create customised components and machines This means they can provide the best solution to help facilitate the production process – taking into account the type of fasteners to be transported and the processing speed,” explains SACMA Products available from Tecno Lift include vertical elevators with vibrating hoppers conveyor belts for finished parts and scraps Each product is customisable and is structured to integrate optimally within any production system “The machines are made and tested by our specialised staff in the newly built state of the art facility in Castelnuovo Scrivia a stone’s throw away from one of our other businesses – Ingramatic,” mentions SACMA “There is also a high-level storage warehouse in Castelnuovo Scrivia.” The new facility houses a modern machine park including laser and bending machines for cutting and bending high precision parts as well as welding stations and other machine tools – everything needed for sheet metal working and both light and heavy carpentry “This again underlines the commitment we have as a Group to invest in our brands and ensure they have the resources to enable them to grow and develop whilst still producing high-quality products.” Complete production cycleWhilst SACMA Group is now able to provide the complete production cycle it is clear its range of progressive and combined headers are still its main focus “Within our strategy of supplying machines of the highest technology levels we continue to improve and develop new models of progressive cold formers and combined bolt makers – supplying them to the ever growing market of net shape parts Our customers have a high appreciation of SACMA machines and consider them to be well designed as well as flexible for making long or short part runs.” To ensure its machines meet customers’ needs the Group works closely with its customers to understand requirements which is how Ingramatic came to join SACMA Group in 2004 “We had a lot of automotive companies asking our customers to thread the parts after heat treatment because the longer engines needed longer bolts We could see this trend was going to continue in the future and to take advantage of this opportunity we needed to extend our service to include thread rolling machines The range of Ingramatic thread rollers and products complement the SACMA production range “We are able to offer a wide range of thread rolling machines suitable for small or large components for the automotive Ingramatic has also used its experience to expand the standard machine versatility with washer assembly units as well as special customised versions upon request.” Due to the modular design of the machine these additional units are easily integrated with Ingramatic thread rolling machines and can provide a unique technical productive and commercial alliance with SACMA “Ingramatic has been very successful for us and that is due to the machines being very strong At the moment our order book is completely full which is why we are looking to double the size of the factory We want to increase the number of machines we can produce because we have a lot of customers switching and coming to Ingramatic.” Ingramatic is also in the process of introducing a new generation of machines “We already have flat dies to make the thread but now we have designed a new station to make grooves This new generation of combined thread rolling machines means customers will be able to make special components The mechanical components for the Ingramatic threaders are manufactured internally and at the SACMA plants in Limbiate and Vimercate OBM is the group’s production branch and a true driving force for both SACMA and Ingramatic “OBM is responsible for the mechanical processing of small-medium sized parts and is an integrated process within SACMA and Ingramatic and synergy it is a perfect system that guarantees our state of the art production.” New and future technologyProviding state of the art technology is a key driving force for the entire SACMA Group which is why the R&D department includes over 25 engineers at SACMA – focusing on customising machines – and two ‘future engineers’ working on the technology of tomorrow A customer can come to us with a part and we will sit with them and work out the forming and the production sequence We can then tell them which parts of the Group will be involved – SACMA An example of SACMA using its experience and knowledge to introduce a new added service for customers is S Tooling because it was not our service strictly to design the tools and to make samples for the customer we had customers coming to us and saying they wanted one of our headers but they also wanted us to design the tools so we could produce samples for them straight away and speed up the process.” which has two engineers focused solely on the project “Thanks to our R&D capabilities we can even work with customers who have already bought a machine from us We can help them with the tooling and ensure they continue to produce high-quality products with this co-design concept.” Other machine models coming soon include the introduction of the new double blow header with an integrated threading station – KSP 12R – which is a next generation machine that is fully motorised “We have introduced these double blow header machines to our programme because of the electrification of cars which uses many more smaller parts and the very large request for the production of self-tapping screws.” The SACMA wayAfter celebrating its 80th anniversary last year and now being able to propose an even wider range of machines complementary to the forming process “As a Group we are proud of our work and what we do as a business which helps us ensure the very highest quality machine for which SACMA is known We only have 170 employees but we make 50 to 70 new machines per year just at SACMA – depending on the size of the machine We can do this because we are very efficient and invest in our technology across all our brands We will continue to invest in technology to make more machines using precise machining to guarantee continued quality.” “Underpinning every brand and every production process within SACMA Group is the same management which is why we have acquired exclusively Italian brands and this has been a key to our success and can provide machinery to run parts from wire components to the final products www.sacmagroup.com Having spent a decade in the fastener industry experiencing every facet – from steel mills as well as machinery builders and plating + coating companies Claire has developed an in-depth knowledge of all things fasteners exhibitions and conferences around the world Claire has also interviewed high profile figures – focusing on key topics impacting the sector and making sure readers stay up to date with the latest developments within the industry By 2020-09-29T09:35:00 ITALY: Milano’s municipal transport operator ATM and Stadler have signed a six-year framework agreement covering the supply of up to 80 trams worth €172·6m with a firm order for an initial 30 vehicles Already have an account? 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