HSD is the new Lighthouse Plant of the Cluster Fabbrica Intelligente

HSD, company of The Biesse, based in Gradara (Pesaro and Urbino), is considered an excellence in mechatronics and automation. HSD is the world's second largest manufacturer of electrospindles: advanced devices for machine tools designed for machining wood, metal, composite materials, glass and stone. The other four Lighthouse Plants are Ansaldo Energia, Abb, Hitachi Rail and Tenova-Ori Martin. 

HSD Mechatronics is the new Lighthouse Plant of the Intelligent Factory Cluster, as well as the first Italian medium-sized company to become one, after big names such as Ansaldo Energia, Abb, Hitachi Rail and Tenova-Ori Martin. The official date is given by the signature that the Italian Minister of Economic Development Stefano Patuanelli has just affixed to the decree authorizing the “Agreement for Innovation”.

With a turnover of 80 million, HSD is headquartered in Gradara (PU), has 350 employees globally and is led by Fabrizio Pierini. HSD is the world's second largest manufacturer of electrospindles: advanced devices for machine tools designed for machining wood, metal, composite materials, glass and stone. It is considered a world excellence in the automation and mechatronics sectors.

The Innovation Agreement foresees investments for the realization of the super-innovative Zero Defects Manufacturing project. Economic contributions from Mise and the Regions of Marche, Lazio and Umbria are foreseen. The project is related to Electrospindle 4.0, the interconnected electrospindle.
"We are proud to have been chosen as Lighthouse," said CEO Fabrizio Pierini. "We will begin a journey that will allow us to realize with greater speed and efficiency our projects at the frontier of technological innovation. But we will also have a significant responsibility. Being a Lighthouse Plant means playing the role of an innovator for the benefit of the entire manufacturing community and, also, of a technological demonstrator: positively affecting, with its own technologies, the companies in the area and in its supply chain. And also invest for them". HSD is a wholly owned subsidiary of Biesse, a multinational company from the Marche region (listed on the Stock Exchange, € 706 million turnover in 2019), world leader in the production of machines, integrated systems and software for the processing of wood, glass, stone, plastic and metal.
For HSD, the goal is to create a supply chain that is digitized, interconnected, intelligent, resilient and focused on quality and time-to-market: this is why the Lighthouse Plant aims to become the first Lighthouse Plant Zero Defects: a centralized control room will be able to detect defects at any level of construction and operation of the tools produced and to provide optimal use and design models.

The “Cluster Fabbrica Intelligente” is an association recognized by the Ministry of Scientific Research with the aim of implementing a strategy based on research and innovation for the competitiveness of Italian manufacturing. It is the only table at which all stakeholders involved in the fate of Italian industry sit at the same time: companies, business associations, regions, universities and research organizations, institutions. The President is Luca Manuelli (CEO of Ansaldo Energia and Ceo of Ansaldo Nucleare) while the technical-scientific committee is led by Tullio Tolio, professor at the Politecnico di Milano.
"With the new Lighthouse, the “Cluster Fabbrica Intelligente” reaffirms its mission to help the evolution of Italian manufacturing industries towards the latest technological frontiers, which are essential to compete" said Cluster president Luca Manuelli. "This is the first step toward the goal we have set for ourselves of enhancing - in addition to multinational manufacturing companies - smaller Italian excellences." Moreover, this project is closely connected with the theme of industrial sustainability, which plays a key role in the Cfi Roadmap. Zero defects means less waste and reusability of a component or an asset in a second life. "In the end - comments Manuelli - what Europe is asking of us for the Recovery Fund resources is precisely a commitment to make our industry more digitally advanced and more sustainable, considering the entire product cycle. It's an opportunity we can't afford to miss. And HSD's plan is a step in the right direction.

Read the article published on Il Sole 24 Ore (Italian language).