Brazilian machinery group Indústrias Romi SA has disposed of an Italian facility where Sandretto injection molding machines were previously produced, in a deal with local authorities and companies.
The group said in a statement dated Sept. 18 that Romi Italia, which is in liquidation, had concluded the disposal of assets to the Italian company Scout One "for a symbolic amount." The agreement involves transferring the employees of Romi Italia to Scout One along with the facility in Pont Canavese, in Piemonte region, which has a total area of 22,481 square meters.
Romi said the agreement also involves the transfer of the Sandretto trademark and other related intellectual property rights to a company wholly owned by the Piemonte authority. A second plant in Grugliasco was not transferred in the deal.
Romi purchased the Sandretto business in 2008, but over the past two years has been downsizing the Italian operation and transferring production of Sandretto machines to its operations in Brazil. At the Plast 2012 trade show in Milan, around 20 Italian employees occupied Romi's exhibit to protest against the company's restructuring plan.
The Sandretto business includes sales and after-sales service subsidiaries located in France, the United Kingdom and Spain. Romi will retain these operations.
The transfer of the Sandretto trademark leaves the way open for Scout One and the Piemonte company to use the name on any new machinery it starts to produce. But as part of the agreement, Romi will continue to use the Sandretto name as a machine brand "for a certain period of time" before phasing it out, said Monica Romi Zanatta, international sales manager at Indústrias Romi.
"At the K show, Romi will start stamping its brand together with Sandretto and new future machines will be branded as Romi only," she told European Plastics News.
Romi now manufactures all of its injection molding machines at its nine manufacturing facilities in Brazil, she said.
In Romi's news release about its presence at K 2013, Romi Zanatta said: "Romi has decided to consolidate its position in the international market of injection molding machines and stamping the Romi brand in the machines was a decision that confirms the intentions of the company, as well as gives confidence and strength to the Sandretto brand."
At K 2013, Romi will exhibit new injection molding machines, including the EN 450, EL 75 and EL 300.
