A team work for a “super enterprise” based on sustainability

November 15, 2021

We were asked by the Salone del Mobile to cooperate to the Boeri Studio project, both thanks to our historic suppliers and to the Network Agreement we had concluded in 2018 with Nolostand Company and Fiera Milano.

We agreed with our team and the Boeri Studio that it would be more sustainable to move from a structure in fir planks, considered as the best solution in the beginning - the project at that stage involved 170 km of 70x50 mm joists - to a structure made of Nolostand aluminum profile we had in our warehouse. This change had the advantage of avoiding to “sacrifice” noble material with positive implications both on the costs and on the static verifiability of the structure.

The decision to use the aluminum skeleton covered with a chipboard skin proved to be, in addition to being rational during the construction phase, decisive for being able to safely dismantle the four pavilions, in the record time of three days, including the dismantling of the products and customized set-ups decided by the various outfitting companies.

The Boeri Studio chose the chipboard coatings as the main material, together with phenolic multilayer, which is one of the basic materials of the furniture sector: a poor material “par excellence “, a recovery product that returns after disassembly as a component for the production of other chipboards.

All material used was raw without any finishing and protection treatment: a choice that requires control and attention and which highly complicates the assembly phase. This was overcome thanks to the attention paid by all in particular by the dozens of fitters who worked for the three hundred exhibiting companies. This made it possible to deliver a “poor” but clean and aesthetically pleasing product which was appreciated by the visitors, enhancing the concepts of sustainability of the project and which became evident not only to the sector technicians, but also to incredible huge number of visitors of the fair.

The technical and formal solutions were gradually developed and a sample was produced. This allowed a technical and formal verification to guarantee the final result that could be shared with the client and the Firm and on which it would be possible to focus details and solutions.

On the basis of this sample it was possible to draw up a Specification for the construction of the final product. Nevertheless, the client assessed that the lack of time did not allow to collect other technical solutions besides the one that was submitted and therefore decided to directly entrust the companies interviewed in the preliminary phase that had presented studies and prototypes.

Given the tight deadline and the problems relating to the supplies of the material needed to complete the Boeri Studio project, the companies involved decided it was important to reach a close cooperation among them in order to reduce the likely risks given the size of the enterprise to achieve.

The companies involved were: Nolostand / Fiera, Allestimenti, Benfenati, Stipa, Way and we all  worked "as a team". The exchange of information and suggestions was continuous as we all shared the same goals: creating good products and helping the customers solve the problems that daily emerged due the innovation character of the project.

This involved a great variety of design contributions, the research of new technical solutions with an eye to practical feasibility. It was also necessary, among all, to consider the summer period and the critical phase due to the pandemic.

Due to the known problems of finding raw materials, production times were subject to risks of non-delivery of materials and therefore to possible delays in the delivery of the final product.  For these reasons we had to work very hard to have the time to correct errors and to be able to eventually replace those materials that might not be delivered in time.

Our departments daily managed the requests of our clients and the relation with the Exhibition Center with a good dose of patience, lots of coffee and biscuits (unforgettable the legendary and original '' Krumiri” gently provided by our collaborator Sara).

Each colleague played their part: Sandro's great interpersonal skills, the Way, the great competence of Nolostand's technical staff and our habit of managing large orders in partnership with different subjects.  All of us, the colleagues of the companies involved who usually are competitors overcame our natural professional “jealousies” to achieve the common goal.

Being among the protagonists of the event that would make our sector restart and, why not, the whole city of Milan, knowing that President Mattarella would have inaugurated the event, having the gaze of so many people on us, were all factors that contributed to motivate our group. Though it is very important to observe that we would not have succeeded without the over forty companies involved in this enterprise including suppliers, assembly companies, service agencies that all demonstrated the strong will to start again, after the forced slowdown due to the Covid19 pandemic.

Months of tension and worries for the future of workers and companies vanished during the construction site, in the safety checks, in the daily organization and in the distribution of the tasks among the companies involved. Over 150 people worked for over a month with relative calm and, in the last few days, as expected, in total apparent confusion to guarantee the “restart” of our sector.

This enterprise has also proven our ability to organize and manage complicated operations, to give quick and precise answers to requests often made after any acceptable deadline…

Special thanks to Giorgio, Sara, Annalisa of our staff, to Francesco and Danilo of Fiera, to Mauro and Marco of Way, to Paolo and Roberto of Stipa and to all those who, with their commitment, have made it possible to achieve a great success showing once again that some results cannot be achieved alone but only united.

Roberto Benfenati, owner of Allestimenti Benfenati