Training engineers from all countries (L) has been at the heart of SCM’s modernisation, like the production facility in Rimini (R).

SCM Group’s first woodworking machine dates back to the year 1952, led by Aureli and Gemmani families. The Italian company offers an extensive range of materials and industrial components in the woodworking sector, at an international level.

Over time, it has developed technologies and has taken over leading brands not only to complete all the processes involved in secondary woodworking but also in advanced materials, plastic, glass, metal and marble.

The group’s history dates back to 1935, when Nicola Gemmani and Lanfranco Aureli, experts in mechanics and foundry work, started working together. In 1952, the first woodworking machine, L’Invincibile was created. It was designed by Giuseppe Gemmani, Nicola’s son.

This machine was meant to be special, much simpler and more practical than those already on the market. It was also intended to meet the needs of a market that would be capable of every kind of furniture.

SCM quickly created a complete range of woodworking machines that paved the way to conquering all the global markets. In the 1960s, Adriano and Alfredo Aureli, Lanfranco’s children, joined the founders.

Together with Giuseppe Gemmani, they led and expanded the company even further with the opening of directly controlled branches across the globe.

Strategic acquisitions

In 1976, SCM developed the first machining centres and systems for solid wood windows and doors. In the mid-80s, they started acquiring well-known brands in different wood-working environments.

It further consolidated the company’s global leadership: Mahros for automation systems (1984), Minimax for woodworking (1985) and at the end of the ‘80s, Gabbiani, DMC and Morbidelli, leaders respectively in sizing, sanding and CNC panel machining centres.

In the following years, development of other leading technologies and other acquisitions (Superfici in 2004, CPC and Sergiani in 2006, Celaschi in 2007) took place. And the group further expanded its range to cover all the production requirements in the industry.

SCM is now celebrating 70 years of accompanying the customer through each of the processes linked to the world of panels, solid wood, timber construction and woodworking.

Luigi De Vito, SCM Division Director and Group General Manager says, “We aim to be even closer to our customers with highly personalised solutions, tailored to suit their specific requirements.”

“To us, this means offering continuous and more valid support to our customers; fully understanding and anticipating what they really need; as well as providing even more pro-active recommendations,” he added.

In order to achieve this, SCM is investing in the skills of its global team, on the technical, sales and after sales side, and the group’s training campus is playing a key role in this.

Smart manufacturing

Simultaneously, the group is upping its digital transformation process on two levels. Internally, it is renewing organisational and international models with the customer throughout the customer’s journey.

At the level of offering the product and services, it seeks to be even closer to the clients’ business needs and jointly study the best strategy for smart manufacturing.

For SCM, all this translates into digital and connected technologies designed for more efficient, sustainable factories. IoT (Internet of Things) systems allow the customer to preserve and enhance their technologies throughout the entire life cycle.

Tools, such as the new My SCM portal, enable a vast range of services to view, gather and analyse all the information on production performance in real time. It is a service team that can deal more simply and effectively with cases, providing faster solutions to guide customers in a knowledge sharing logic.

The research and development investments are another pillar of strength. Not only does the Group set aside 7% of its annual turnover for R&D, there is an innovation team with multi-disciplinary skills that allow SCM “to have an open, forward-thinking approach that goes beyond the specific applications of our sectors, once again to the full advantage of the customer,” Luigi says with emphasis.

The investment plan places sustainability in first place, both for internal processes as well as products and services, in order to offer customer solutions.

In 70 years, SCM has managed to establish an increasingly more direct and capillary presence internationally.

Future plans

“The centrality of the customer and a human as well as smart approach, are the values that guide us in our daily work in the industrial plants in Italy and the branches abroad,” Luigi says.

Despite current uncertainties linked to the rising costs of raw materials and energy, SCM continues to invest even in its plants in Italy. The company is increasing the production capacity of the industrial sites that currently record an average production of 20,000 machines per year.

Another important driver is the digitalisation of production lines, which sees the spread of lean processes and factory control systems in various plants, in line with ‘Industry 4.0’ requirements.

The aim is to improve industrial organisation by enhancing integration of the factory with the IT systems. Last, but not least, investments in foreign sales are seen as guaranteeing a more direct and capillary presence in strategic markets.

Apart from woodworking, the SCM Group is a reliable partner to leading industries in the automotive to aerospace, and yachting to plastic machining.

SCM Group coordinates, supports and develops a system of industrial excellence in three large, highly specialised, production centres in Italy, with a turnover in excess of €750 million, and a direct presence in all five continents.

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