RPE, company specialized in solenoid valves, flow meters, pressure restrictors and filters, after some days of stop, started working again on April 1st, even if with reduced staff, on shifts, assuring the right distance among workstations, the use of all individual protection devices and with both daily and weekly sanitizing operations. Operating in the supplies for the medical chain, RPE is in fact continuing its activity for that ambit, producing components for applications intended for hospitals, clinics and similar structures (sterilization, sanitizing and air management concerning fans).
The first step consisted in reviewing the production organization to adapt it to the specific current demands, as explains Filippo Ravazzani, general manager of the family-owned company that he manages together with his father Giuliano and his sister Florinda. “The medical production was already included in our ranges but our customers’ manufacturing volumes have grown and consequently their demands have increased. It was an important test for RPE, we had to revolutionize all production plans completely, trying to move and to reuse the available materials for these customers. The reorganization was not easy but with commitment and goodwill we managed it and we are succeeding in satisfying their demands, which come from Italy but especially from abroad: we work very hard with Germany, United States and China. Besides many companies are equipping themselves to do their best in coping with this situation, then implementing breathing masks or state-of-the-art lung ventilators. In these cases, they contact us and we put our resources at their disposal”. The handling of goods, Ravazzani confirms, was not a problem. “We have no shipping difficulties; after some slowdowns in the first days of April, we could make our products travel problem-free, even if minor volumes than before are at stake”.
In the household appliance sector, the white good ambit – where RPE operated derisively – is stagnant, while, Ravazzani explains, “the part intended for the professional is recovering, then all Horeca chains and similar, because they have asked for authorizations to prefects, to be allowed restarting”.
Forecasts for the future are difficult, in such a complex context, but how does RPE see the “Phase2” of this emergency? “The scenario we imagine is a first peak time of production caused by the emergency, with a fragmented recovery, characterized by lower volumes but a high variety of codes: we will have to work hard to be able to satisfy all demands. However, in the medium-long term we expect a notable drop, especially in the fields linked with tourism and then with professional appliances, but also with household appliances in general: the entire building world has stopped and there is no certainty about the time when it will recover previous rates, yet.
In the case of RPE, as we work hard with foreign Countries – where we achieve 80% of our turnover – we hope that the downturns of the Italian market are compensated by other nations, to limit the unavoidable consequences of this so dramatic time. However, this does not slowdown our development plans: we will go on investing, and we will do that even more, in new technologies.”
Meanwhile, in his Linkedin profile, Ravazzani, has uploaded an image full of hope: at few metres from his office, two undisturbed deer that, in these troubled times, have given him a moment of joy. An indication, too: “this image is sending us a message: in our future something must change”.
