Market and competition go hand-in-hand, and every organization has its own strategy to face them. While some engage in price competition, others focus on quality. Innovation is another basis of market competition, and probably the most interesting. It not only keeps its adopters ahead of their immediate competitors but the market interested in their actions. Hence, they are always relevant and often the drivers of change, upgrades, and new technologies. In a conversation with Wire & Cable India, Mr. Stefano Zuttion, Chief Executive Officer of DEM Group, shares how the company keeps itself ahead of its competitors using innovation and customized solutions. DEM Group is an Italy-based wire manufacturing equipment provider. Since its establishment in 1996, the company has always used innovation and diversification of solutions and equipment offered as its market strategy. The most recent of its innovations include the self-developed digital platform WIRE UP, and Spring Wire lines.
Wire & Cable India: Please tell us about your company.
Stefano Zuttion: Our company DEM is a mechanical engineering company based in Italy. We provide specialized equipment to the wire industry to process various types of wired and reinforced steel.
We began our journey in 1996 by selling Cold Rolling Cassettes for reinforcing wires. Since then we have expanded our manufacturing capabilities and capacities in various instances while diversifying our product line to its current status. In 2001, we ventured into manufacturing profile wire rolling lines; in 2003 we commissioned our first reinforcing wire rolling line for bars; in 2012 we supplied a fast Profile Rolling line for flats and squares smaller than 1 mm used as electronic wire; in 2015 we diversified to manufacture a Hot Rolling line for special shapes; in 2018 we launched Direct Wire Rolling (DWR), a concept that revolutionized fabrication of reinforcing steel bars, and WIRE UP, the DEM digital platform. In 2020, we successfully commissioned our first induction and tempering line for Automotive Spring Wire, while in 2023 we are going to commission a newly conceived FCW (Flux Cored Wire) line for welding wire having superior qualities.
Apart from product-based diversification, we have also entered organizational partnerships for better technological development. In 2007, we entered a share-holding-based group partnership with EVG, Austria, and in 2016, we acquired TEI to integrate in-house software and automation development.
As of 2023, we offer a vast spectrum of rolling technologies with customized degrees of automation. Our technologies could be used to manufacture various types of wires and coils from both ferrous and non-ferrous materials.
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WCI: Please tell us about your manufacturing setup.
SZ: Our manufacturing setup is based in Udine, Italy, and spans over 5,500 square meters. This facility is equipped with our in-house engineering setup, and manufacturing and assembling area. We employ a workforce of 70 people, who oversee all functions including technical office, accounting, sales, assembling, workshop, and commissioning, as well as all after-sales-service. The majority of our manufacturing operations are concentrated in Italy and Europe.
All our assembling operations are followed by equipment testing, with the targeted material, and we invite our customers to support these trial runs. Shipping and installation are included in our services and they follow successful trial runs, to the satisfaction of our customers.
This overall setup will increase by 1,500 square meters by the end of this year, as we are extending a bay and expanding the administrative area.
WCI: Please elaborate on the product portfolio of the company.
SZ: We manufacture line equipment for Profile Wire Rolling (PWR), Reinforcing Wire Rolling (RWR), Reinforcing Wire Stretching (RWS), Spring Wire Lines, FCW Flux Cored Welding Wire Lines, and Cold Rolling Cassettes (CRC). Our CRC lines could be used for both normal lengths and micro-rolling as well, differentiable on a models-basis. These lines could be used for the production of different wire castings, including wire uncoiling, wire preparation, wire calibration, rolling section, wire cleaning, wire quality, wire stretching, pulling section, and profile packaging.
Additionally, we offer DEM-engineered products as complementary equipment for mentioned lines, such as tying and strapping machines, bar sorting, and handling, hot rolling lines, inline wire annealing, technology for superconductors, stainless rebar rolling, wire rope compacting, calibration stands, zinc wire rolling, etc.
Profile Rolling is among our main products as they have applications in many industries, like automotive, construction, power generation, and distribution. Our product line could be used to work with all types and grades of ferrous and non-ferrous materials. They can easily be used to shape profile wire, steel wires, high carbon, low carbon, stainless steel, or copper wires for energy. On the other side, the Reinforcing Wire lines are based on structural wire mesh and have the majority of applications in the construction sector. Furthermore, we have the technical capabilities to study, design and build special lines.
In terms of yearly sales volume, we ship approximately 4 to 6 PWR lines, and 25 to 30 CRC lines for reinforcing wire.
“India is an important market for DEM Group, and we wish to collaborate within the territory rather than simply from outside. In the coming years, our name will be heard more in the Indian market.”
WCI: Quality and production efficiency are very important for any manufacturer in this world. How do you help your customers achieve these two aspects?
SZ: We ensure a connection with our customers since the beginning of the project, as we like to solve our customer’s problems. Hence, we prefer to work jointly with our customers right from the equipment’s design stage. We offer innovative equipment which is automated to the maximum to ensure comfort and fewer complications for the operator employed by our customers. We also offer operator training support, wherein we provide the basic know-how to them, which they can use to operate the equipment through all possible types of operations.
In 2018, we launched our very own DEM digital platform, namely WIRE UP, and it is now available to all our customers. All our manufactured machines are connected 24 hours a day, through an integrated digital interface. WIRE UP helps our customers to track production, support maintenance tasks, and support all the tool tracking with a 3D catalog of all drawings, and spare parts.
Our in-house service center is always in touch with our customers, providing round-the-clock support through a remote connection. Apart from technical support we also provide processing and product manufacturing support to our customers as they put our equipment in use.
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WCI: What is your USP that keeps you abreast with your competitors and peers in the market?
SZ: There are varying bases of market competition, such as price-based competition. If we look at pricing, we acknowledge that DEM is not the cheapest one, however, as there are various types of market competition, we score on innovation and optimum solutions provision.
At DEM, we innovate a lot and are constantly adding solutions and new tools that could be integrated into our existing lines. In the last 4 years, we have integrated into our machines – quick changeovers, assisted changeovers, high speed, and all additional features which our competitors are yet to offer. We offer customized solutions to our customers, through technological packages (for PWR and RWR) and industrial automation (for PWR, RWR, and RWS). While technological packages are advanced solutions to improve performance, industrial automation is our complete in-house set-up to complement new or revamped equipment and to provide on-time service.
We offer DEM engineering to develop “fit-for-purpose” products and equip the same with our digital WIRE UP interface to provide digital monitor, control, and upkeep of the equipment. Hence, our innovation keeps us abreast of the market.
WCI: Are there any other new developments or future plans at your company? What would you like to share about the Indian market?
SZ: We are working on different strategic expansions, however, they are still under-development stages.
As for the Indian market, it is a very important market for us and we would like to collaborate and cooperate with Indians more closely. We have been working with Indians, but from outside India, and we wish to at some point be more connected within the Indian territory. Presently, we do have a couple of customers in India, but admittedly the scope is vast. Undoubtedly, in the coming years, India will experience a huge expansion in terms of DEM’s presence in the market.
