Fai Filtri has produced filters for 40 years. today it is increasingly oriented to export, especially with its outstanding product.
Established in 1976 at Cernusco sul Naviglio (Milan, Italy), Fai Filtri produces filters, filtering elements and components for the Aftermarket, hydraulics, spark erosion, industrial and air/oil separation sectors: today it produces almost two million pieces for 700 active customers in the world. It relies on sale branches in Canada, United States, Malaysia and Russia, while the European market is directly managed by the headquarters. The three main ranges are filters for hydraulic plants, filters for EDM machines and filters for the industrial sector, especially the petrochemical. The export constitutes over 80% of the turnover: the European market ranks first, followed by the American and Asian ones. At the premises of Pontirolo Nuovo, in Bergamo province we met Roberto Pasotto, engineer, founder’s son and today General Manager of the company. He talked with us about his company, products and how the constant training is deemed an essential factor to compete on markets worldwide.
Screwed cartridge Spin-On filters
The company’s core business is constituted by the Spin-On filter, with a production of about 100,000 units per month. They are screwed cartridge filters, whose production modality is constantly upgraded. The peculiar characteristic of these disposable elements is the easy, fast and clean replacement of the clogged cartridge, particularly important aspect in operational contexts where environmental conditions are generally highly degraded. The screwed filtering Spin-On elements of the CS-CTT-CSP-CSD series find their main application in suction, return and intake lines of mobile machinery (earth handling machines, agricultural machines, compressors and hydraulic plants and so on), with max. pressure peaks of 12 – 25 – 35 bars of operation. These characteristics make them compatible with hydraulic and lubrication oils, fuels, water glycol, emulsions and a vast part of synthetic fluids: Roberto Pasotto explained us: «70% of our market is constituted by the Aftermarket, in spare parts, 30% by OEM and big distributors. One of the most interesting characteristics of Fai Filtri production is the great versatility: the company produces about 150,000 different codes, with sizes that range from few centimetres to two metres and over, with a high customization capability for customers». The filter can be supplied to customers with its own logo, its labels and its box. In several cases, also the production of small batches, even around 10 units, is possible.
Net, paper or microfiber for the different filtering requirements
Fai Filtri has recently invested to improve the efficiency of both the head office in Italy and the subsidiary in the USA, with the aim of increasing the production and of making it leaner; the target is meeting customers’ specific demands in established times. In particular, in the Italian site they have introduced a new Paper & Net crimping plant and a new Rotary Paper Machine for the high-speed crimping. Pasotto explained us: «The new machines intervene on the crimping of the filtering baffle, which is the main part of the filter, its core and the fundamental element. Thanks to these plants, the crimping productivity has risen by 50%, providing the company with noteworthy advantages in terms of production capacity, flexibility and speed in setups». Filters can be of three types: of net, paper or microfiber. The new machines are dedicated to the paper part, with excellent qualitative constancy. Microns make the difference among the three types: microfiber scores the highest cleaning performance. Paper ranges from 10 to 25 microns, even if the surface is not uniform. Microfiber is suitable for plants needing an extremely clean fluid, for instance where there are delicate thermo-valves.
The development of the American branch
The United States branch has been concerned by an important enlargement and by a reorganization of the inner spaces, with the target of having always a steady-state warehouse for the customers in the hydraulics and compressor sectors. «The warehouse of our USA branch is dedicated to the codes of filtering elements, air/oil separators, fast movers and top sellers in the hydraulic and compressor industry, for a total of 106 available references in stock on a surface of 400 sq.m.», tells Pasotto and he adds: «The need of having a dedicated stock emerged to grant the immediate product availability to our active customers and to the potential customers of the American market, assuring just-in-time deliveries and avoiding the times of transport from Europe. With this warehouse, Fai Filtri USA can offer filtering elements and air/oil separators interchangeable with the primary producers of filters and with the most prestigious OEM».
Export: a winning choice more than ever
Since its establishment, Fai Filtri has always had a strong bent for export. «The first customer was a foreign customer, and it is still one of the most important clients for the company. Today exporting is increasingly a need, the domestic market has fewer and fewer potentialities and competitors are too many. We have been present in Canada for 15 years, with excellent results, and the Charlotte subsidiary, in the United States, is giving outstanding outcomes». The American success derives also from the research in products: the filter is the same but in the American market there are different typologies of attachments and closures. They have carried out an extensive market analysis, they have identified the most demanded models and started their production.
[su_box title=”A new branch in Russia”]Fai Filtri strengthens its presence on Russian territory with a new branch located north from Moscow. Fai Filtri arrives in Russia with a new branch located north from Moscow, in the important commercial area of Dolgoprudny, near Sheremetyevo International Airport. The italian company, specialized in the production of filters and filter elements, thus adds another piece to its investment plan. Fai Filtri Russia relies on the participation of a local partner who represents one of the most important companies of industrial filtration sector in Russian market and with whom the company has been collaborating for several years. The new branch, with the presence of highly qualified and specialized personnel, wants to strengthen its presence on Russian territory, an extremely important market with a very great potential of growth, also thanks to a warehouse dedicated to top sellers in the filtration for hydraulic oil and air / oil separation for compressors sector. The starting area dedicated to the warehouse for products storage is 400 mq, with the aim of doubling the space over the next twelve months. Instead, the area dedicated to the offices is about 150 mq. The birth of the new Fai Filtri branch in Russia, after the strong overseas expansion of the last ten years, proves the rapid and effective international expansion with great investments in research and development. [/su_box]
