The Omec company is based among the beautiful hills of Valdelsa, in the town of Certaldo, halfway between Florence and Siena.
Founded in 1964, it operates in the woodworking machinery sector but in a specific niche market, as it specializes in the manufacture of jointing milling machines. These machines are used by furniture manufacturers to make furniture drawers, as well as in the packaging industry to produce wine crates or other wooden boxes.
Omec's high level of specialization came from an intuition of the owner, Giuseppe Tinti, who almost 50 years ago started the business by building traditional woodworking machines. After some time he glimpsed the opportunities underlying this market niche, thus choosing to specialize in what today is the company's core business and which over time has allowed it to emerge on the international market.
Today Omec exports about 80 percent of its production; Tuscan milling machines reach the United States, South American countries, Arab markets, Asia, as well as much of Europe. The Italian market, on the other hand, has gradually become marginal over the past 15 years. Production is around 200 machines per year, with a range of about 15 models.
Dovetailing milling machines find a favorable market especially in countries of Anglo-Saxon culture, where dovetailing, used in the manufacture of classic furniture, is widely used over other assembly techniques. Milling machines made by Omec feature stepper motors from Ever Elettronica, a Lodi-based company that has been a supplier of components and complete motion control solutions for more than 40 years.
"We started using stepper motors from Ever Elettronica by mounting them on some models of our milling machines instead of the more expensive brushless motors," recalls Ivo Landozzi, Omec's procurement manager. "The need for the change was precisely dictated by the need to contain costs related to machine components. We therefore switched from the brushless motor to the stepper motor, going on to identify, after an accurate research phase, Ever Elettronica as the ideal supplier, thanks to the excellent quality of its products."
A cost-related decision, then, but one that has brought advantages and benefits that go far beyond the economic aspect. Indeed, the manager continued, "To date we are very satisfied with the choice of both the products, from a technical point of view, and the supplier. Ever Elettronica is always very present and helpful, and given the excellent results achieved with the first machines, we are extending the use of stepper motors to the entire range of our production, including the high-end."