SK Wellman, a company specializing in the production of brake and frictions components for off-highway, has a lively DNA. A historical reality in Orzinuovi (Bs), where the plant is still located, over the years it has undergone transformations and changes that have contributed to making it what it is today: an evolved company, able to grow in loyalty to the local Italian territory and to innovate its sector with creativity and flexibility worldwide. Today, as part of the CentroMotion Group and its Carlisle Brake & Friction division, SK Wellman is a leader in its segment, recognized and chosen by major brands in earthmoving, agricultural and construction machinery. Engineer Alessandro Gamba, Global Director of Friction Engineering, tells us about the ongoing growth.
"S.K. Wellman S.R.L. has 340 employees and a turnover of 127 million by 2023," Gamba begins. In the last five years, a strong push has come from the market but above all from the characteristics of SK, such as creativity, innovation, flexibility, which, in the final analysis, are the result of the greatest wealth of this company: people". They are the ones who make the Brescia-based company an authentic and tenacious company, to the point of being able to export not only their products successfully, but also their skills and design skills to the other plants of the Carlisle Brake & Friction division. The year 2023, which has just ended, confirms a positive performance in turnover for sales revenues alone, recording a slight decrease of -5% compared to the previous exceptional 2022 financial year; A year, the latter, probably unrepeatable for many realities of the Brescia and non-Brescia economy. In fact, 2023 was undoubtedly the year of change that helped people develop a greater ability to manage uncertainty, accepting and dealing with unexpected situations with more resilience.
"At the base of success there is a matrix organization developed thanks to group governance - explains the engineer -: a verticality driven on all functions and skills, able to define and guide processes on a global scale and generate best practices. And that's not all," adds Gamba, "we are one of the companies with the lowest level of turnover, and this allows us to transfer the experience of those who have been with us for a long time to young people, on whom we particularly focus. Added to this is a company population of 15 different nationalities, whose strong collaboration creates a truly serene working climate," says the HR Manager. It is no coincidence that the direction of growth is particularly social responsibility.
"Among the main projects of SK Wellman and Carlisle - he observes - stands out Enactus, an international non-profit organization that, thanks to its activity, involves university students in the creation of sustainable entrepreneurial projects, helping to bridge the gap between university and business; and then Treedom, which involves the company's commitment to planting 1,600 trees in three years, involving its stakeholders in the project". Two more rare gems for the metalworking industry? A level of accidents at work that borders on zero, and the centrality of talent development. Towards excellence and beyond. Source: Il Corriere della Sera – edizione Lombardia