SMI: Difference between revisions

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=== History ===

~~Smigroup’s~~ origins date back to the mid-~~‘70s~~, when Luigi Nava ~~sets~~ up ~~a machine shop~~ in San Pellegrino Terme (Bergamo).In the ~~beginning the craftsman’s~~ small enterprise ~~activity is represented by machine finishings~~ for third parties. ~~Some~~ years later ~~such activity~~ is ~~enlarged~~ to the ~~maintenance~~ and ~~repair~~ of ~~machinery~~ and ~~equipment employed~~ in the bottling and packaging ~~lines~~ of the ~~beverage industry~~. The ~~passion for chains~~ and ~~gears~~ and ~~youth’s spirit of initiative push Nava brothers~~, ~~under their father’s careful eyes, towards an~~ even more ~~ambitious goal: to manufacture a packaging machine characterized by innovative solutions~~ and ~~wide operating flexibility~~.

SMI’s origins date back to the mid-70s, when Luigi Nava set up the mechanical workshop bearing his name in San Pellegrino Terme (Bergamo).

Besides the founder, even his four sons joined his small-scale enterprise as soon as each one came of age. Initially, the workshop business consisted in machining for third parties but then the maintenance of machinery and systems used in beverage bottling lines was added later on. Hence the idea of entering the packaging machine production sector; in 1987 the first SMI film-packer without sealing bar saw the light(called “shrinkwrapper”) which was presented two years later to the international market at the SIMEI trade fair in Milan. In the 90s, SMI is the main player in the rapid growth of output and sales thanks to the cutting-edge technological solutions introduced in its range of shrinkwrappers and case packers; operative flexibility, advanced automation and excellent quality/price ratio soon became the company’s trademark, renown worldwide. At the same time, SMI goes international by opening branches and representative offices in France, the UK, Malaysia, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. In 1999 SMI enters the rotary stretch blowmoulder sector for the production of PET bottles, soon ranking among the leading European manufacturers of these machines.

In 2002 the annual output of automatic packers reaches the world record of more than 300 units, ranking SMI as the leading manufacturer in this sector. In 2009 SMI launched its own range of automatic palletizers for end of line packaging and the following year it introduced ECOBLOC® integrated systems, which bring together stretch blow-moulding, filling and capping functions in a single machine. In 2011 SMI installs the first complete costsaving line for the bottling of mineral water, designed to reduce production costs and save energy.

The following year, SMI celebrated its 25th year in business with the slogan “constantly innovating the packaging industry since 1987”.

In 2013, at the Drinktec exhibition in Munich, SMI presents a new end-of line compact system called PACKBLOC, which gathers into a single

frame the functions of secondary packaging and palletization.

In April 2014 SMI’s employees move to the new headquarters of the Group, which houses offices and manufacturing facilities on a 65,000 sqm area. The new site, resulting from the renovation of former Cartiera Cima papermill’s historical workshops, boasts modern plants generating electrical power from renewable energy sources such as water and sun. In 2015 SMI launches a new design and manufacturing plaftorm called ERGON, which allows to make the whole product range even more ergonomic and functional.

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