Industrial automation, let’s take stock with R. Altieri, SEI Sistemi

His company has been designing and manufacturing industrial automation systems for almost three decades. We asked Roberto Altieri, CEO of SEI SISTEMI, to take stock of the year that has just ended. It is interesting to find out what effects the pandemic has had on this type of business, which is affected by the general economic trend, the sales of machines and systems, and which needs a lot of regular maintenance interventions over time.

Mr. Altieri, let's start by taking stock of 2020. How much has COVID-19 hurt you?
In terms of revenue, we are at -10% year-over-year, while in terms of profits we were able to stay in line with 2019.

Congratulations! How did you manage to accomplish this result?
By implementing several measures, such as establishing a telematic service for remote web-based commissioning. However, we still managed to perform in-person start-ups, for instance in India or Russia, by adopting all the necessary precautionary measures—which, I must say, I have always demanded to abide by. We could stay afloat by working as a team: our branch in China – in Shanghai – allowed us to carry out many on-site jobs, thus satisfying both Italian and foreign clients.

Do you work abroad a lot?
90% of our activity takes place outside our country: we supply automation, regulation, and control systems to Italian manufacturers who install lines abroad.

Manufacturers in which sectors?
From paper to metallurgy, from the rubber and plastic industry to wire production.

Since you have such a wide vision over the market, is there in your opinion an industrial segment that has held up better than others, or that has worked better?
The steel industry is going through a downturn. We have fallen back on the paper industry, which this year has turned to the non-woven sector, as in non-woven fabrics used to manufacture face masks.

Can you mention any particularly interesting innovations, something you've been working on recently?
I can mention two of them. First, we have been working on automation solutions for wire and strip loop systems. Secondly, we have been developing a new product for copper annealing furnaces (up to 8000 amperes), made with IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors), which allows us to have a Cosφ of 0.98.

So, you have been busy.
Absolutely, yes. We have given a big push to all telematic systems. We have also created our own Industry 4.0 software for line handling aimed at optimal management of preventive maintenance, yield analysis, etc. Among other things, we have set up a department dedicated to the creation of an all-electric Formula 3.

An electric car?
Yes, with a super-efficient motor. We have made our own inverter, and we are now waiting for the homologation. The car will be presented early this year. It is a growing sector, and in our opinion it is very promising.