The secret is team work

When a team gets along well together and has passion for their job, even a coffee break can become an occasion to exchange opinions.
We encounter Mr. Antonio Battanoli, production manager, after one of these “briefings” and he immediately explains to us: “It’s the moment in which those of the workshop encounter the internal office workers, we exchange views on how things are going on respective fronts, and the awareness of being part of a common goal grows stronger in all of us”.
It is not even 10 in the morning, although work is proceeding at top speed and things to be done are many. We steel a few minutes from him in between phone calls.
How is the market going?
It’s a positive moment, both for the sector and for the company. The request today is that of a higher product diversification, speed in delivery and flexibility. These characteristics are actually a part of Calpeda’s history since the start e thus it is only natural that the market rewards us.
How is technological development supporting and changing your activity?
There is a constant improvement in production technology, in particular in the flexibility sphere. Calpeda’s investments in machine tools are constant. We are present in all of the fairs of our market sector, we constantly visit other foreign companies, and we continue in our historical partnership with Trevisan. Additionally, we must not forget the security aspect that remains very important to us. A recent example is the installation of the new water-based varnishing rooms.
How is the activity in the workshop organized?
Our work team demonstrates how it can be possible to combine a heavily structured production entity with a equally structured human dimension. I am convinced that it is fundamental to consider problems people can have, both physical and personal, and that all this pays off in the long run. In Calpeda, it is no incident that we have no turnover. This permits us to work well, it permits us to aim on the growth of our employees, and it permits us to invest on their training. It is an enormous satisfaction to have a human contact with my “boys”; I treat them as if they were my children. Our policy is that of sharing choices and objectives: listening to other’s proposals is always good.
How would you describe your role?
My job is for the most part psychological in which I must evaluate the merits in each worker. I must be certain that everyone is to the utmost of ones abilities. It is fundamental to have trust in those that surround you, as not to do things completely on your own, but to learn to delegate. I am aware that I have figures around me on whom I can count on, and these same figures in turn have others on whom they can refer to. This is the only way you can contemplate growth.
Your first thought in the morning when I enter the factory, and the last before going home…?
I actually start thinking of my work day on my journey from home to the factory. As soon as I set foot in the firm, one must start organizing the workmen. We are fortunate since our workers are capable in carrying out various tasks, thus it is possible to move them with a certain freedom in accordance with urgencies or to cover eventual emergencies. We then proceed with supplying materials, in calling our suppliers, and we fully enter the heart of the day… Instead, in the evening, I stay back a little longer with my closest fellow colleagues: that is the moment dedicated to the future, to projects.
When you arrive home, are you able to detach or wind-down?
Yes, dancing…