Pierre La Tour, Biesse CFO, interviewed by Market Insight: “We believe that shocks always result in opportunities and that it all comes down to knowing how to seize them.”

“Digitalisation, product innovation, adopting a one-company logic through the group and further reinforcement of the commercial network in order to emerge from the current economic situation ready to seize the opportunities of the future.”

These are the strategic priorities that have been identified by Pierre La Tour, CFO for Biesse. Biesse operates in the sector of machines and integrated systems for working with wood, glass, stone and advanced materials and has been listed (BSS.MI) in the STAR segment of the Italian Stock Exchange since June 2001.
Giancarlo Selci was inspired to found Biesse in Pesaro in 1969. Over the years, a clear and well-defined vision developed, to anticipate the future through technological innovation and digital transformation.
In the last fifty years, the company has become a multinational with a global presence, 39 subsidiaries and more than 300 distributors, operating through four business units: the wood division, the group’s historic business; the glass and stone division; the mechatronics division and the tooling division.
With reference to digitalisation, La Tour states that “we’ve really focused on digital technology platforms, including the introduction of Sophia in recent years, for remote control of our systems.”
SOPHIA is Biesse’s IoT platform, created in collaboration with Accenture, opening up a vast range of services to its customers and transmitting real-time information and data on the technologies in use to optimise the performance and output of machines and systems.
“Major development of these platforms is planned for the coming years, together with corresponding development in terms of both software and services,” in line with the identity of a group that places the values of innovation and proactivity at the heart of its strategy.
And it is precisely this theme of innovation that will remain a fundamental element for the future. “We’re currently making major investments in the R&D area, a department that will continue to play a key role in the development of the company,” confirms the CFO.
This development must inevitably address the uncertainty of the current macroeconomic scenario due to the coronavirus pandemic. In Pesaro, however, they are confident about overcoming it to become stronger and more robust than before.
“We believe that shocks always result in opportunities and that it all comes down to knowing how to seize them,” continues La Tour. “Faced with an inevitable loss of turnover, we were quick to respond with targeted actions to increase efficiency, reviewing our cost base with a critical eye.” “At the same time, we took the opportunity to review all of our processes, an initiative with a broader scope, but one that we’re sure will lead to significant benefits as early as the coming months,” concludes the Biesse CFO.