Technology Signus 1995, wise decisions, right investments

The history of the company Technology Signus 1995 s.r.l. begins (as suggested by its name) in 1995, thus turning 20 in 2015. The company began as an IT provider in the industrial field, and then started to get involved in the mechanical splintering technology.

Wise decisions

In the mid 2000's, the company was producing automotive parts and already had a wide experience in this field. In 2010, the company embarked on a wide restructuring program (for its size), which included 5 new equipments – 3 lathes and 2 turning centres, all CNC. After a detailed assessment of the Romanian machine tool market, the company was faced with two major decisions:

1. buy new or second hand machines?

2. what would be the selected manufacturer?

The answer was relatively easy to the first question – even if the initial investment is lower, the lack of any warranties and very high costs of spare parts (if the equipment is retired) doomed from the onset any prospects to buy second hand.

The right investments

Once concluding that new machine tools are worth the investment, what remained was to decide on the manufacturer. It was desirable that the purchase be made from a manufacturer well represented in Romania (in order to provide fast and quality
technical support), which significantly limited the available options, as these conditions were fulfilled by only a handful of manufacturers. This category was dominated by two groups of manufacturers: Asian (mainly Japan) and German. At this point, the decision was made taking into account the support provided by all these manufacturers in Romania, and we found out that only Deckel-Maho-Gildemeister (DMG) were present in Romania with their own organization, while others were represented by various dealers or agents. Thus, 5 DMG machine tools from the ECOLINE range were purchased: 3 lathes CTX 310 V3 ECO and 2 DMC 635V ECO turning centres.

The machines did not disappoint, and thanks to strict compliance with the manufacturer recommended maintenance program, they reached between 7000 and 10,000 working hours with any technical problems (taking into account they are being continuously worked on in 2 or 3 shifts).

This allowed the timely and qualitative delivery of parts to our agents, which maintained and increased their high opinion of us. Moreover, the availability in excess of 98% allowed us to be more flexible, something which had a significant contribution in receiving new orders from our customers, and enabling recommendations as trusted suppliers to new customers.

Flexibility

The universal nature of the machine tools in the inventory allowed to approach a very wide range of parts. Thus, we are producing both turned and milled automotive parts for customers in Germany, Italy, Great Britain or France. Some of them are included in motor vehicles (suspension parts), while others made up the manufacturing lines of various automotive brands.

The increase and concurrently the improvement of the milling capacity allowed the processing of ever more complex parts, going as far as the processing and delivery of moulds for rubber, metal or plastic, manufactured at very high quality. The flexibi­lity of our manufacturing allowed us to approach less ordinary materials – such as various types of plastics, less usual aluminium alloys or special steel alloys. Moreover, the versatility of the machines gave us access to a wide range of industries. Thus, we ended up working, besides the aero industry, with the energy, moulding or general mechanics industries.

Seriousness and discipline

The company’s management are no stranger to German strictness and mindset. All the business relations and current partnerships are based on documents (contracts, commitments, etc.), but the cornerstone consists on strictness and discipline – they cannot be laid on paper, but have to be sown in anyone’s mind to be applied to everyday activities. In this business field there are no "hits” (a word that sadly became slang nowadays). You have to work on a daily basis and settle for a decent profit. We understood that progress comes in small steps, but with the determination to always keep on going ahead.

Despite the fact that not many still believe in it in Romania, seriousness helped us a great deal in our relations with customers and partners. They became increasingly confident in us, and we permanently tried to rise to their expectations and never disappoint.

The upward spiral of our relations with them inherently led to development opportunities for the company. Thus, thanks to the increased orders exceeding our manufacturing capacity, we purchased two more equipments in the last months of 2013: a DMG lathe (CTX 310 V3 ECO, but from the new ECOLINE gene­ration), and a Mori Seiki turning centre (NVX5100 – again new generation).

We do have plans for developing the company, but we wish to be realistic, which undoubtedly alters such plans. The develop­mental stages of Technology Signus 1995 s.r.l. always had a two-pronged investment approach: machine tools, on one hand, and related and/or adjacent aspects of the splintering process, on the other hand (tools, devices, but also investments in quality control and assurance).

We are constantly trying to view ourselves as part of a line of Romanian splintering processing companies, setting our future strategy based on our position at any given time.

For now, we believe we are part of a crowded group, where competition is fierce. The opening of the Romanian market and the developments of foreign economies led to the emergence of many small companies (like ours), which invested in a few digital machine tools. This is why the difference is made by how you can adapt to the market, which depends heavily on the equipments you use. We are satisfied with our cooperation with DMG MORI, and for this year we are planning to purchase a 5 axis turning centre, and maybe a lathe if the situation will require it.

Human resources are key

The team that makes all of the above possible is a young and motivated one, and its most important feature is its mentality and discipline. It is not easy to find disciplined people who are open to change or shape their thinking towards the most innovative spirit possible. Quality human resources are probably one of the most significant issues facing Romanian companies, and this is why we are proud of our Technology Signus 1995 s.r.l team.

We strive to remain a flexible company, adaptable to all market requirements. This is how we made our reputation, and intend to preserve it.

We are glad and at the same time honoured by the initiative of the “Tehnică și Tehnologie” magazine to promote small Romanian companies. We thank you for this. 

Tudor Chiper is Technical Manager Technology Signus 1995 s.r.l.