PRESS RELEASE
The Italian company based in Brescia is focusing on eco-innovation and an increasingly green range of products with the essential support of Warrant Hub – Tinexta Group
Capriano del Colle (BS), 15th January 2023 –The Italian company based in Brescia is focusing on eco-innovation and an increasingly green range of products with the essential support of Warrant Hub – Tinexta Group. IMG specialises in the production of injection and compression moulding machines for elastomers and silicone.
The company was founded in 2006 in Capriano del Colle (Brescia), in the surroundings of the so-called Rubber Valley of Sebino – a rubber industrial district of worldwide importance – thanks to the idea of four partners, all with previous experience in the sector: Barbara Ulcelli, currently President of the Board, Fabrizio Bonfadini, Director Operations, Fabrizio Piovanelli, Sales Manager, and Sergio Baronio Service Manager.
The customers of IMG, which until now were mainly local, are manufacturers of rubber components provided to companies in the automotive, aerospace, household appliance, construction and other sectors: these companies use IMG presses mainly for the moulding of gaskets commonly known as O-rings. Today, the company has 60 employees and a turnover of € 64 million in 2021.
“We consider ourselves to be sustainable natives and therefore it is a duty for us to continuously investigate how and how much our business impacts on the environment by always setting new targets for improvement,” says Fabrizio Bonfadini, Operation Director at IMG.
With this mission, in 2020 IMG started the procedure to obtain Carbon Footprint Certification for the GUM series press, the company’s top selling product. “The certification,” explains Bonfadini, “would give us objective parameters validated by a third-party body on the number of emissions coming from the production of the machine, so that we could establish measurable actions to reduce them.
A certified partner
For the carbon footprint analysis of the GUM series, essential for its certification, IMG decided to rely on Warrant Hub – Tinexta Group, a company that provides strategic and financial consultancy for innovation, digital transformation and sustainable business development. “We knew the value of Warrant Hub because in the past it had already supported us significantly in the procedures to access the benefits of the 4.0 Tax Credit and other national and regional calls for tenders,” says Bonfadini.
The Warrant Hub consultants thus decided to adopt the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology, applied to each phase of the entire press production cycle. The result is a report that is fundamental for obtaining certification: this is issued in 2021 by SGS Italia, a leading company in the sector to which IMG submitted its request.
“At that point, having objective reference values at our disposal, we started to study process improvements but, above all, we gave impetus to the development of a new full-electric machine that strongly meets the objectives of lower environmental impact,” explains Bonfadini.
A complete role for a winning project
Warrant Hub also supports IMG in its new project, assisting it on several fronts. First of all, it guides the company in accessing the Lombardy Region’s ‘Tech Fast’ call for tenders, assisting it both in the application phase and in the design phase in the development of a new product according to ecodesign criteria: a commitment that allows IMG to obtain a non-repayable contribution covering 50% of the investment.
In 2022 the new machine, the REM 300, is born. “In the new machine, we have replaced the traditional hydraulic operating system with a fully electric system, which eliminates the polluting component linked to the use and subsequent disposal of hydraulic oil: a real unicum in our sector” explains Bonfadini.
A certification procedure is also underway for the REM 300. Warrant Hub, which is still involved, is again starting with an LCA study. “This time, in order to have an even more complete view of the carbon footprint, we turned to EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) certification, which requires the measurement of emissions relating not only to the production of the machine, but also to its use, estimated on average over 15 years,” explains Walter Morandi, Innovation Advisor at Warrant Hub. With the new report in hand, based on the ISO 14040, ISO 14044 and ISO/TS 14701 standards, IMG also obtained the Critical Review certificate for the REM 300 machine, a prerequisite for obtaining the EPD, once again issued by SGS Italia.
Benefits for the environment and beyond
“The comparison with GUM’s data has shown that the new machine has a 6% lower impact on the environment, which is a more than remarkable result and responds to our desire to expand our offer with an alternative and even more sustainable product,” says Bonfadini. The REM 300 also reduces energy consumption by 40% compared to hydraulic machines and 20% compared to hybrid presses. It also offers customers additional benefits such as easier set-up, less raw material waste and higher productivity, increasing the competitiveness of IMG in the market.
Warrant Hub’s actions have also resulted in collateral and additional benefits. “Both LCA models were developed with an innovative approach that allows us to carry out simulations on our own to understand how to improve specific environmental parameters of the two machines,” says Bonfadini.
That is not all. The study conducted on the REM 300 also highlighted the opportunity for IMG to apply for a utility model patent for certain technical solutions developed during the design phase that are truly innovative. “This is a possibility that honestly we had not considered: it is evidence of how Warrant Hub always knows how to go beyond the stated requirements, and how to grasp unexpressed needs. As a result, we submitted the application at the end of 2022”.
An increasingly green future
IMG is looking towards an even more sustainable future. “We are investing in the construction of photovoltaic systems and aim for ISO 14001 environmental certification,” says Andrea Merlini, Marketing Manager at IMG. “In addition, we have started the design phase for a new REM model of a larger size than the current one. Also in this case, we foresee a path similar to that of the first model, confirming Warrant Hub at our side, a reliable and competent partner,” concludes Merlini.
About IMG
IMG is the Italian leader in the field of elastomer injection moulding machines. Founded in 2006, it is based in Capriano del Colle, in the province of Brescia, the cradle of the Italian manufacturing industry. Its main market is the Sebino district, considered the Rubber Valley worldwide. The 9,000 square metre plant employs 60 people, a young and dynamic team, oriented towards research, innovation and sustainability as growth drivers. Turnover in 2021 is expected to exceed 60 million euros. Production covers presses with punching screw or screw + piston systems, multi-injection systems for thermoplastics and loading and injection systems for BMC, liquid and/or paste silicone. IMG’s experience also leads it to produce customised machines to customer specifications. To complement this, the company offers consulting and maintenance services by highly qualified personnel, also in remote assistance, and punctual management of spare parts.
For information:
IMG Press Office
Michela Bono – mob: +39 338 2627383
michelabono.ufficio@gmail.com