Interview with Fulgosi S.r.l.

• Company year of incorporation: 1974
• Year of association to the Consortium: 2016
• Turnover class: 3 mln €
• Products:  Quick Opening Closures  (QOC up to over one thousand Bar), Pressure Vessels (Pig Launcher and Receivers) Q.O.C., Pig insertion / extraction cradles, Gas Dehydrators and Cartridge Filters for instrument’s feeding, Flow Straighteners and S.A.W. cold rolled Tubes and Cone-Shaped Reducers.
• Industries: Mechanical engineering, Petrochemical (Oil & Gas), Textile, Research
• Foreign markets: European Union and MENA

We thank Eng. Fulgosi, Presidend and CEO of Fulgosi S.r.l., for having kindly answered our questions:

Hello Eng. Fulgosi, can you tell us about Fulgosi S.r.l.'s growth path in exports and internationalization?

Our first step outside the Italian borders was fortuitous, as I believe it often happens. Since we work in an international industry sector, we met some Italian emigrants to Belgium. It was the first half of the 90s and, as the working relationships with Belgium intensified, the need to speak with non-Italian people also increased. Hence we improved the English skill in the Company and this was the ignition of the expansion of our action range that was accompanied by the early presence on the internet and the adoption of Total Quality company philosophy, typical of American working method (territory where the headquarters of the Belgian company abovementioned is).

Thus, in the early 2000s, we developed our own quality department and an engineering one and we patented the first product of our invention. At that time the reference market was very niche and globalization had not exploded all around the world; therefore, we were able to place products abroad basically only thanks to the contacts received through the internet. Then slowly the competition from the Far East began to grow and our very specialized market became the prerogative of a myriad of potentially competing realities.

From here we had the necessity of deepening our knowledge of that acronym, CEPI, we had always heard of, but which we thought was referring to an entity aimed only at large companies. And in this matter, we were mistaken.

Can you tell us about the relationship with Piacenza Exporters Consortium?

We have always been a little intimidated by the name Piacenza Exporters Consortium that always reminded us of a sort of "association" of big companies. On the contrary we discovered that they were mainly SME's who are thinking BIG. This method of support that CEPI offers is a fundamental tool for those who, like us, want to try to approach foreign and distant markets, but with limited resources. On this matter the Consortium gave us the opportunity to be present in events where , we would never have been able to even try on our own. And moreover CEPI offers absolutely no secondary consultancy and supporting activities.

Could you please describe the company and its products?

FULGOSI S.r.l. it is a zero-point company, no matter the number you put in front of it. Today, however, there would be no room for other alternatives, but in this respect we are at the forefront: we created a website in 2011 that in ten years had about 400,000 visits which, considering the nature of our production, are a huge amount.

Usually customers enter there to download certificates, qualifications and view the progress of production and we are developing new features and services aimed at facilitating our Clients.
We recently registered a new patent that is a technical simplification applied to our line of Quick Closures (QOC).  Although we are still prototyping and testing, we are receiving a very encouraging feedback.

Our level of research and development, despite being a very small production reality, allows to compete with international giant companies unable to custom their production as we are and this can make the difference.

What are the main tools used for international marketing and promotion and which of them are used in collaboration with CEPI?

Starting from the first year of association, CEPI offered us the opportunity to participate in the most important trade fair in the world in our industry: the ADIPEC (Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference). This was an opportunity we benefited every year since then and this year we were candidates in the ADIPEC Awards section in the category “technologically innovative products”. This has already earned us a series of contacts with international organizations that are present in the jury of the competition itself.

So this way CEPI is at the base of our promotional activities which over time have produced contacts of the highest quality with the possibility of creating a network of representatives now in several countries around the world.

Markets where you are exporting and where you want to expand

Today there is too much uncertainty to talk about future markets: both due to the instability of the scenario in which we operate and to the globalization of the market.

Now no matter the direction we look at we see the same worldwide as you can buy a very low value good in the Far East and receive it at your home in no time at all.
There is no opt out choice: the market is one.

Future plans:

Our Unique Selling Proposition is: “Close our Doors to Overcome your Pressure, FULGOSI’s tailor made Q.O.C. engineered on your needs, any design type, an out of standard pressure relief". This means how much our commitment is aimed at the specific need of each individual customer, relieving them of the" pressure "of having to adapt a product standard of the common market to a particular need.