Business has been growing so quickly for Italian medical implant manufacturer Permedica that it can barely keep up with demand. However, a new strategy for its CNC department, in partnership with Seco Tools, has started to make a notable increase to its productivity.

“One of our machines could not operate at night due to the programming and the kinds of tools we were using,” explains Permedica sales manager Federico Perego. “The material was overheating, which was stopping the machine and meant that it couldn’t be programmed to operate automatically during the night.”

He continues: “Seco were always very direct in relation to the issue and in proposing a better solution. They didn’t make a promise they couldn’t keep, and they didn’t just try to sell us tools. Instead, they helped us to solve what was an important issue.”

One of the Seco Tools Italy team working with Permedica, manufacturing transformation manager Matteo Foglietta, says: “We were able to address swarf issues that were a big problem for the night shift. So Permedica has gained not only more productivity in terms of a shorter cycle time, but also an increase in machine capacity during the unmanned nightshift. This is also thanks to the global competence from our innovation hub that we can bring to the customer side through local and technical expertise here in Italy.”

Perego estimates that this initial success has helped to increase Permedica’s productivity by more than 40%. Now further initiatives, including the installation of tool vending machines to help with warehouse management, are underway.

“So far, we’re very satisfied,” says Perego. “There are still headaches to solve, but I hope we can continue with this great start and achieve important things together because there is a lot of complexity in our business, and we need many resources to support this. Permedica is reacting to the help being provided by Seco by placing more orders for tools, so it’s a win-win relationship.”
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