Manufacturing in the EMEA region and being competitive with Asian players is possible. This is demonstrated by PowerCoils, a company that manufactures power transformers and inductors for various application areas, including smart home. The company now boasts a portfolio of over 100 customers and has been able to grow over time by focusing on human resources expertise, automation, customisation and diversification. It began its activities in 2001 in Merone (in the province of Como).
Shortly afterwards, in 2003, a production plant was opened in Tunis. The year 2017 represents an important milestone in the history of PowerCoils: in fact, the company starts a growth path that will lead it to open a production site in the province of Pescara. For what reasons did the choice fall on Abruzzo? Is investing in this Region of Italy a challenge that is bringing good results? Ciriaco Petruzziello, sales director of PowerCoils, answers these questions.
What prompted PowerCoils to move to Abruzzo?
From the very beginning, the company focused on the skills of its human resources as a distinctive element. This is how the Loreto Aprutino plant was born, betting on the skills of its people (who now number 24) and on automation. In fact, we have invested in heavily automating production processes and this has allowed us to produce in Italy, making components at a competitive price compared to Asian companies. And customers have shown that they appreciate to count on a supplier located in the Mediterranean area but able to guarantee prices close to those of Far Eastern companies.
The critical issues encountered in recent years have led several companies to review their purchasing strategies to reduce the risks associated with long-distance logistics. Our customers are mainly European: having a partner that produces in Italy and Tunisia is a major advantage for them, not only economically but also in terms of support because we are close to their factories. The investments made in automation have brought good results and we have also managed to acquire new customers who previously bought components in Asia.
In addition, we continue to focus on quality as demonstrated by the ISO 9001:2015 certification achieved in 2018 for the Pescara plant and subsequently also obtained for the Tunis plant. Between 2019 and 2020 two UL certifications for insulation systems were also added, attesting that our transformers comply with the UL 1446 standard: one concerns products that are in thermal class B 130°C and the other concerns devices in thermal class F 155°C.
How has the company evolved in recent years?
In 2021 we opened an office in China. Since many of the products we use to build our components are made in Asia, we use this location to scout for suppliers and buy directly from there. This also helps us to be competitive, because we bypass the distribution that imports products from China.
In addition, we have been working on increasing our exports in recent years. In 2022 we opened a sales office in Germany to follow this market with a view to growth. What is also new is that this year we have signed an agreement in Spain: we will open a sales office there in order to develop our presence in the Iberian market.
