Technology & Innovation

Meet The Faces of Frigeri

The spirit of Frigeri is a compenetration of dedication, combativeness, self-confidence, faith in our future and thirst: thirst for intercepting and capturing new technologies, thirst for foolproof prediction, thirst for expanding our individual and collective knowledge. Mutual empowerment and recognition and a collective path made of individual footprints are the cornerstones of our culture.

ENRICO
Warehouse Manager
Joined Frigeri in 1971

A Testimony

I have started working in Frigeri away back in 1971.

Even if I was in my early age, it was not my first work experience, because at that time people started working early. I entered in Frigeri as apprentice: I had various and different duties, from helping the more expert and older among my collegues in designing tool sets, to taking care of the garden around the plant and cleaning the factory premises. These duties, nowadays, can seem dequalifying to many but I believe that, on the contrary, they have to be considered precious and necessary for the right professional and educational training for every youth.

At that time, people worked in harness with the owners, Secondo and Augusta, in a familiar and peaceful atmosphere. After having carryed out the duty of fitte until half of the ‘80s, then I became latest generation tool machine programmer, the EDMWs. For me and the company that was a crucial shift to new technologic and informatic methods that now are the real big number in our firm. From hammer and drill and all the handworking done until now I got suddenly landed with using computer and advanced robots.

At the beginning of 2000, thanks to the computer experience I gained, I was charged of being responsible of the warehouse (this was computerised too), where, coping with transports and goods shipment among other thing, from big items to even small and thin detail typical of our company, each kind of knowledge is important, both hand ability and computer and/or electronic.

Now, in 2011, I am here telling in short words what my working experience has been and how is now and, above all, my life experience, which made me grow up as a person and as a worker in honesty and self-abnegation, searching for common targets fulfilments in Frigeri Team.

I would like to thank everybody, in particular Augusta and Secondo, Elisabetta and Roberto, with all my heart.

GUIDO
Quality Control Manager
Joined Frigeri in 1995

Guido, I know that you are not a talkative man and moreover I see that you are busy in inspecting a quite complex die, so I ask you: would you like to tell us briefly how your adventure has begun in Frigeri?

I started in Frigeri in 1994, just after my studies, and I was not only in my first experience in Frigeri, but also it was my absolutely first esperience in the job market. I learnt during some time that, in such a complex job the toolmaking is, expertise is everything and with this word I haven’t said enough about this matter. For this reason, if I turn back to my first years with my memory, I find out that I had been really lucky in having met from my colleagues and company managers, drive, support and real aid in learning and gaining real knowledge. I think I have grown up a lot in these years and not only professionally.

Are you referring to your friendship with your colleagues?

Yes, to them. I can proudly say that I have lots of friends in the company, wise and generous people who taught me everything, and I have learnt so much. Moreover I am led by my role to be in contact with external people and, even if it takes many efforts and commitment, I learn so much also from them: my daywork is not at all boring.

On your working role there is a quite big responsibility: what do you do to bear it in the better way and how?

As Quality Control Manager I consider myself, more than a professionist in the Frigeri team, a real representative for the Customer directly in the company. All my work, in fact, is conveyed on a unique aim: to prevent, as I can, that process and product faults could arrive until the Customer, but on the contrary they could be isolated, documented, faced and solved in Frigeri. Knowing that in the end I am working in the Customer’s best interest, gives me naturally all the strength and power I need to feel myself a complete professionist during each minute in my working day.

Is there something particularly special you have learnt in Frigeri that you think it can makes the difference from other companies?

Everythink we do in Frigeri has always the originality taste, and I state this without any pretense, but staying on the evidence of real facts. This comes out from the fact that we think with our own brain and what we do, we do it ourselves. Do you need an example? With the exception of the name of my working role, in Frigeri we never use the word Quality; instead of it we use Conformity. Even in particular expressions, we talk about Conformity Control, not Quality Control. Conformity is a measurable quality and so it can be comparable and usable; so it becomes of common use. Quality, on the contrary, is essentially the result of a perception and the use of this word can be associated only with the Customer, the only one who has the right of speaking about the quality of the product he receives. I can’t help but laughing when I read of companies speaking about “our quality” or writing “the quality of our products”: they make me think about that Checov’s character, that old retired colonel, who speaking about himself, was used to say: “My Excellence”. Such statements show that who is writing has not understood what we are talking about at all. Now saying something about Conformity instead of Quality can be seen as mere alternative of words but instead the effects on processes and products are really huge and the consequences can be widely detected in every day company activities.

Thanks Guido for your passion and also for you unexpected talkativeness.

Thanks to you and to this fantastic company in which I am honored to work in.

FRANCESCO
Junior Toolmaker
Joined Frigeri in 2006

Francesco, how would you define, in short words, the essence of your daily job in Frigeri?

Simply the job I do in Frigeri is a mix and it is composed of three main elements: knowledge, passion and skills.

3 very difficult concepts, without any doubt. It seems that you are marking an arrival rather than a starting point in toolmaking trade.

No skill or knowledge can be excluded from the existence of a team composed by high-value people who are determined in reaching the common goal. One of the strong points of our job is undoubtedly the closer collaboration of each specialized technician during each tool developing step, from design to end product test. Naturally, all this process has the common aim of meeting the only one possible goal: satisfy the end Customer’s needs and requirements without any problem.

Between the Francesco 2005, before your entrance to Frigeri, and the actual Francesco which differences are there?

I am confident that 5 years spent in Frigeri have given me a unique background of knowledge, mostly thank to intensive test activities in Customers’ plants, in Europe and outside Europe. Working for the company in these plants, has made me able to compare productions processes and methods, mostly in that step I consider the most difficult and fragile phase, dies fine tuning. So my business knowledge has had the possibility of growing solid and wide and I am proud of it.

Is there something in your job that satisfy you in particular?

The more rewarding aspect in my job for me is that joy, that deep happiness of seeing a product that until one week before was a coloured stain on a computer monitor realized in reality. Yes, I found that it is really gratifying and fulfilling.