Like many companies under the ALTANA umbrella, ELANTAS Italia has a family tradition. Formed by the merger of what were originally three small family-owned businesses in 2011, it has become the company in the ELANTAS division with the highest sales.
ELANTAS Italia delivers wire enamels for primary insulation of electrical coils, impregnating resins for secondary insulation of motors and generators, and electrical and electronic insulating materials. Its customers include renowned machine and motor manufacturers around the world. The ELANTAS division is the global leader in wire enamels and one of the leading manufacturers of secondary insulation materials as well as insulating materials for the electrical and electronics industries.
One of the reasons for the company’s success is the entrepreneurial independence with which it acts. The Managing Director of ELANTAS Italia, Antonio Nastasi, views himself as a true entrepreneur, with a sense of responsibility, a willingness to take risks, and a spirit of innovation.
The Family Businesses Are the Roots of the Three Business Lines
Primary insulation in Ascoli Piceno, secondary insulation in Quattordio, and insulating materials for the electronics industry in Collecchio – Nastasi consciously kept these three sites.
Each site has its own production, sales, marketing, and customer service. Only overarching functions such as finance and IT are bundled centrally at the company’s headquarters in Collecchio. “Thanks to this decentralized structure, we’re extremely close to our customers,” explains Nastasi. “We know their needs and processes precisely and can react to their requirements immediately. And we will develop new solutions together with them if required.” Each business line has ist own development department and laboratories right at the site.
Close Customer Contact in Research
“Important impulses for the products of tomorrow often come from our customers,” says Nastasi. “We use these impulses to develop solutions for them and to grow along with them.” The company is currently devoting itself to promising new research projects. Among other things, the Italian experts are developing insulation on the basis of nanoparticles. The first patents have already been registered. Other fields of research include high-voltage current and inductors. Last but not least, the developers are working on composite materials and adhesives used for insulation.
The decentralized structure helped ELANTAS Italia to react flexibly to the business environment in 2013. “There’s a sense of family in our DNA,” says Nastasi. “I know every staff member personally. So I know how to challenge and encourage each one.”
Nastasi, who holds an engineering degree, has worked at all three sites in the course of his career. This constitutes another link between them. Apart from that, he insists on becoming personally involved in important projects at the different locations, for example, regarding quality assurance in production or in development. This is a family trait too – lending a hand where- and whenever necessary.