Giardina Group and Fratelli Fantoni: between energy and disposal
We visited Fratelli Fantoni in Muggiò (MB), a production company where people work with passion in search of the best quality with great attention to sustainability…
Attention to waste disposal, optimization in the use of materials to reduce costs and waste, maintaining very high quality. This is the philosophy of Fratelli Fantoni of Muggiò, a company that for almost fifty years has been one of the most appreciated painting centres in Brianza which for some years, thanks to the collaboration with Giardina Group, one of the best Italian finishing companies, has continued in its path.
“Almost 50 years ago my father Cesare, who was a paint representative, decided to set up his own business and open this business with his brother Carlo. This is how Fratelli Fantoni was born and today, after almost half a century, we are still here: brothers and cousins who carry on the work of our parents“, Danilo Fantoni, one of the five owners of the company, tells us. “Over the years we have made ourselves known for our high quality. We collaborate with several major furniture brands in the Brianza area that demand high quality finishes and attention to detail is a must“.
A work which continues and follows the environmental changes and is aware of sustainability…
“We have always been very careful to the management of each phase of the painting process, from the choice of materials to the management of waste, obviously passing through the use of the latest generation machinery that can also guarantee significant energy savings.
This is why when we decided to upgrade our painting plant a few years ago, where we relied on the Giardina Group as we have been collaborating with them for many years. With their support, we have created a complete painting system, the booth with the painting robot, the drying oven with a side booth for manual painting, being cognitive to always obtain the highest quality.
We have created a system with on one side the painting robot that allows us to work optimally on large orders, with different pieces and furniture to be painted; on the other hand, we have the manual painting booth, perfect for working on small orders and on products with particular shapes, chairs, mounted tables. As I mentioned, we work a lot with well-known furniture brands. And as you can imagine, working with companies known for the quality of their products means not always working in series, but often finding yourself working on small orders with the need to paint each product in a different way. Furthermore, we must consider that such a powerful machine as our robot gives its best when working on large orders, when it can work for hours and hours. For this reason, it is also essential for us to have a good manual spray booth that reaches where the robot cannot go“.
The curing system supplied by Giardina Group, as Stefano Mauri, co-owner of the company from Figino Serenza (Como) explained to us, guarantees the energy recovery that takes place through a dynamic exchanger, which allows to recover the hot air developed through the battery of the pressurization and through a cross-flow exchanger which, on one hand, recovers the air and on the other, introduces clean air with a small amount of energy to bring it to an adequate temperature. This allows us to reduce energy consumption to heat water compared to a standard system (without recovery systems for water heating). Furthermore, this system allows perfect control of the degree of humidity inside the drying oven, eliminating the possibility of having imperfections and contamination thanks to the constant temperature present inside the room.
“To install this system – continues Danilo Fantoni – it took us about a month from when the works began. The Giardina Group engineers visited us where we studied the project together, to be able to satisfy all our needs. It was not an easy job, because we had to work with a factory designed many years ago. However, despite the difficulties, everything went well.
Moreover, we are always careful to the environment throughout the painting chain. For example, we accumulate and divide the various paints, cans and all waste. We constantly dispose of everything reducing everything that could have an impact on the environment. We try to recover everything possible, even the solvent and acetone, and where it cannot be recovered, we dispose of everything carefully.
As for emissions into the atmosphere, however, everything is controlled and filtered, with sensors that warn us if the filter is clogged or not’’.
How has the world of painting changed in recent years?
“Let’s say that the painting process has become more and more complex, especially as regards to the colour range. You see, if once the colours used were a dozen, with the possibility of painting several identical pieces in a row, now we have moved on to a hundred colours and with customer requests that are more and more particular and this forces continuous colour changes.
We always try to offer the highest quality, always respecting the delivery date. This is our flagship, being able to have maximum attention to the customer by making the most of our expertise. For us, being a family-run company, there are no weekends. When we accept an order, our goal is only to complete it. We leave nothing to chance: when the furniture leaves our laboratory, the furniture must not go back. The quality must be perfect. Of course, some problems can happen, but we always have a contact with our customer to be able to reduce any problem. And if there is a problem, we will rework it … “.
Courtesy of Xylon magazine.