Wood & Panel

Luigi De Vito

Luigi De Vito

In an exclusive interview with Apratim Ghoshal, the editor in chief of Wood & Panel, Luigi De Vito, SCM Division Director speaks on Italian woodworking industry in general, automation, Xylexpo 2020 and more during Xylexpo International Press Conference. Excerpts.

woodandpaneleurope How would you sum up 2019 in a nutshell?
Luigi De Vito: 2019 was a good year. SCM achieved almost the same results as 2018. As you remember 2018 was one of the best and successful years for SCM. So, with our investment in innovation, in competencies and in penetrations into different markets – we achieved to stay at the same level with a good profitability in generating cash flow for the company.
woodandpaneleurope Being one of the leaders of the Italian woodworking industry, may I ask you the current state of Italian woodworking industry?
Luigi De Vito: Italy for us is the first market in Europe. We are making almost more than 10% of our turnover and we are in the main customers in terms of the dimension, and the opinion leaders. Italian market is very relevant for SCM. In other countries too, we have achieved good results and just to give you some figures and numbers: in the last four years, we witnessed a 15% growth in Europe every year. When I say Europe, I mention countries like Spain, eastern Europe, Hungary, Poland, UK, Germany and so on. For that reason, we keep investing on direct sales and direct support in terms of after sales- especially for the big, medium customers who demand the availability of different machines and different solutions.
woodandpaneleurope Can we expect a new feature of Maestro Digital System in future or in Xylexpo?
Luigi De Vito: What I can confirm is that the digital process is very important in SCM strategic agenda. We are working wider in understanding how we can develop internal solutions and also how we can work in co-operation with a software producer to enable our customers to have 360 degrees solution for themselves. Digital services and of course, Maestro Digital Services would be one of our main products and solution in the next future. So you will see in Xylexpo, new features in terms of solutions for our customers that make them always connected with us.
woodandpaneleurope How do you see the penetration of automation and digitization in woodworking industry and how you think they have adapted with the networking and the system?
Luigi De Vito: Smart Human Factory is not our marketing concept, it’s our company concept. Smart Human Factory, for us, is a smart factory that our customers can manage in an easy and simple way. What I mean is the use of a consolidated technology with the existing technology like edgebanders, drilling machines, CNC, put in a very organic solution together where the scope of automation lies. There is no scope of automation without solution and processes. Automation makes the customers able to manage the full process and not just single pieces of process. To say in another word, automation for automation is no sense but automation for solution makes sense and this is what SCM is working on. Digitization is the future and human is the future and the two coming together will bring more and more value into our business.

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