Daniel Galli talks about his professional career that led him to the current role, the present status of A.Celli Paper and the future company prospects.
Last week Lucca hosted, as every year, the MIAC exhibition, the most important Italian event involving all the main players in the tissue industry. We therefore took the opportunity to ask some questions to Daniel Galli, the new General Manager of A.Celli Paper, who gave us his time to talk about his career, the current state of the company and his vision for the future.
Your professional development path is very interesting and dynamic: can you tell us about it briefly?
After the graduation in engineering in 2004 I had the opportunity to work in various large corporations covering increasingly important roles in the Operations area. This allowed me to get a wide knowledge of many different processes but, more importantly, to know many great people around the world.
By the way, my really first working experience was a 2 months stage in a paper mill therefore now I feel to be back where everything started.
How great is your satisfaction in fulfilling this new role in a challenging - but rich in opportunities - market such as that of tissue and paper?
I’m really excited by the opportunity of leading A.Celli Paper and work in the tissue and paper business.
During the first months in A.Celli I had the opportunity to see some of our recent installations, appreciating the high technological content of our products and the level of innovation in the processes.
Lucca and the “tissue & paper” business have a special bond, and working in this sector means feeling part of a district of excellences done by companies that are always looking at innovative ways to fulfil customer’s needs and expectations. I feel really proud of it.
Every change brings about revolutions. What are the critical points on which you will work the most? what are the strengths?
I prefer to talk about evolution rather than revolution.
A.Celli has a long tradition in the construction of machinery for the winding and rewinding of tissue paper, enhanced by the offer of advanced solutions for complete turnkey plants, tissue machines and reel handling and packaging systems.
I have found a company with great values and people willing to change and improve: the right ingredients to be successful.
The recent acquisition of PMT (former subsidiary of Beloit) is opening great opportunities for us in the paper and board business. The development of this area and the integration of the two businesses is one of the main points of our growth process.
I will also bring my previous knowledge to continue a path aimed at improvement, offering the best experience to our customers and redesigning even more motivating dynamics for all our collaborators.
A.Celli's vision fits perfectly with the concept of technological innovation. Can you tell us more about that?
A.Celli is a company really committed to innovation and to the development of the best solutions.
Our new Evo-lock® Yankee Dryer represents a breakthrough technology assuring huge reduction of the maintenance activities, usually associated with the welded design, increasing the plant productivity and reducing the energy cost.
We are promoting our SMARNIP T® solution, a shoe press for tissue paper that match the reliability and robustness of the shoe press for paper developed by PMT with the simplicity and low maintenance needs of the pneumatic supply.
Last but not least, we have the R-WAY® range dedicated to the automation of plant intralogistics, a combination of packaging lines, AGVs and automated warehouse systems capable of managing, handling, tracking and storing semi-finished or finished products made of paper, cardboard, tissue or nonwoven.
In addition to machinery, A.Celli also offers digital solutions to the tissue and paper industries: how do these solutions bring benefits to the business?
We see many and crescent opportunities for application of digital solutions in the tissue and paper industries.
A.Celli realized the endless possibilities of the Industry 4.0 and founded a dedicated division, Extreme Automation, in 2016.
Our offering, under the OMNIA DP naming, is a flexible software suite based on cloud technology that can monitor and improve almost every aspect of a production plant, from anywhere and at any time. Energy consumption, emissions, anomalies, inefficiencies, best practices: our solutions, through specific dashboards, can keep track of all this and much more, also guaranteeing the complete safety of the data shared online thanks to the application of the latest cybersecurity protocols.
Where does the company stand in terms of sustainability?
The importance of sustainability, not only in the manufacturing industries but also in every aspect of our life, is now clear to everyone, from consumers to government entities.
The market is asking for continuous improvement of energy efficiency to reduce the use of raw materials or the consumption of water and energy during the production process.
A.Celli, for example, has always been and will always be on the frontline in this regard, efforts that led to two important awards in the past.
Where do you see A.Celli Paper in the near future, let's say 3 years from now?
In recent years we have had to face unexpected situations that have changed both the way we do business and our daily life. This experience has taught us that knowing how to react quickly to unpredictable events can become a success factor. In this company I found a group of managers who immediately understood this need and quickly recalibrated the company strategy with winning results.
Also for the future A.Celli Paper will leverage its entrepreneurial nature to be flexible and “agile” in responding to the changing needs of customers.
A.Celli Paper is a consolidated player in the paper and cardboard sector, just as it is in the tissue paper industry: my goal is to consolidate this leadership position by integrating the range of products and services already present within the group in the best possible way.
In addition to the foreign offices already active for years, operating in China, the United States and Turkey, I found an excellent attitude of the branch office in Pinerolo, which can count on a staff of over thirty professionals. They have allowed us to get back in touch with historial customers of PMT, guaranteeing a first level level of service and maximum speed of response for our customers.