SOUTH BEND -- It's been just a few years since Somaschini came to South Bend
but the Italian gear maker has already committed itself to the city in a big way
The company recently completed a $16 million investment in its plant in the Blackthorn Corporate Park on South Bend's northwest side
The expenditure includes the purchase of equipment that will enable Somaschini to double its output here
The South Bend plant is now capable of producing more than 800,000 gears annually for heavy-duty truck engines
Somaschini's plant at 4601 Nimtz Parkway is extremely modern and highly automated
"The kind of technology you see here is not typical of a small or medium enterprise," said Alessandro Somaschini
the executive vice president of Somaschini North America
It's mesmerizing to watch the robotic machines' precise actions as they go through the process of turning steel forgings into finished gears
Each mechanical arm is programmed to pick up forgings with an exact motion
The always-moving robots put the parts in the right place for teeth to be cut into the gears
apply rust preventative and stack them on pallets for shipping
Gauges are in place at each step in the process to check each part's dimensions and ensure perfection
"The number of mistakes you make with these machines is so low
it's almost non-existent," Somaschini said
And if something does go wrong with a part
the gauge catches it and stops the machine so the part can be removed
Employees also check parts for visual defects before shipping
"We're dealing with very tight tolerances," said Paul Morrison
the operations manager at the South Bend plant
"You need the best equipment to check that."
They're high-tech jobs that require skills and experience in working with computerized machines
The use of robotics also means workers don't experience the strain associated with old-fashioned factory jobs
but the Italian company is still family owned and operated
The firm was established in 1922 in Milan and has been headquartered since 1943 in the town of Trescore Balneario in the northern part of the country
is part of the fourth generation in his family to manage the business
and his cousin Daniela Somaschini also works at the headquarters in Italy
The company came to South Bend in 2011 as part of a joint venture with Schafer Industries
a South Bend firm that makes precision parts for the transportation industry
Schafer's plant and Somaschini's plant are located side by side