22/10/2008
A “pick and carry” personality
A company name with an Italian family flavour, with no connection with big or foreign names. Simply: Galizia, a company located in Castello di Annone, near Asti, who underwent a great evolution in its work and in the technology of its products.
Tradition goes on under the sign of “pick and carry” cranes, and its fulcrum is now eng. Fabio Vercelli Galizia, a strong supporter of the company mission: to make the Galizia brand a synonym for self propelling cranes, specialised in handling in industrial environment. Cranes that are very compact, versatile, with high loading power, and as safe as the market requires.
We spoke with Fabio Vercelli Galizia about the recent history of the company, but also about the past and the origins of the company, following the red thread of the memory of this family saga.
Mr. Vercelli, your Company has a long history, can you tell us something about its beginning and the changes it underwent along the decades?
Our family has been involved in iron working for more than 100 years. Actually my great grandfather was working in this sector, and my maternal grandfather Piero Galizia founded its company for metallic structural work in the sixties/seventies, cooperating with the most important companies in the Asti and Alessandria provinces. The present company was born from the joint efforts of my uncle, Fulvio Galizia, my mother Renata Galizia and my father Silvio Vercelli.
At the end of the eighties we started planning and building self propelling cranes, and are still producing booms for concrete on behalf of third parties, as well as cutting plants for plates and special metallic structural works.
Which is the present organisation chart of the Company?
The present organisation is constantly evolving, and roles and competences are precisely defined and shared among family members and employees. The name of the company is Galizia snc of Renata Galizia and Silvio Vercelli. Together with my mother and my father I am in charge of
operations and organization. I am also cooperating with the technical office for planning development and am more and more involved in the clients relations, the sales and marketing areas, keeping also an eye on the development of new market areas through exhibitions, publications and events.
My mother, Renata Galizia .is also in charge of administration, together with my sister Luisa Vercelli and my cousin, Valerio Galizia.
My father Silvio Vercelli coordinates production, cooperating with my cousin Daniele Galizia of the technical office.
The untimely death of your uncle Fulvio Galizia left you with the task to go on with the family tradition ...
Sadly, my uncle Fulvio Galizia died at 55 last year, He had great abilities and the gift of involving people in his activities, He passed us his great enthusiasm and his passion for life and work. We feel now as our duty to keep up the same determination in reaching the goals we set together, and we strive hard for becoming a reference point in the self propelling crane “pick and carry” market , through the constant development of our models and the satisfaction of our customers.
Self propelling cranes of a special type, maybe still unknown...What is a “pick and carry” crane and which is the difference between it and other cranes?
It is a special type of crane, born from the need to lift, move and set very heavy loads, without the help of stabilizers. Planning a pick and carry crane is a highly specialized job, as it is a very compact machine that may be used wherever necessary, in different industrial environments. Self propelling itself, lifts and handles large and small loads, machinery, machinery parts, metal works, boats, marble slabs and so on. By adding accessories such as the hydraulic self levelling forks, these cranes become even more versatile and multipurpose.
It may be useful to state the difference between a telescopic lift and a self propelling crane, stressing that, when looking for a machine suitable for moving on dirt roads, (i.e. with reduced loading power compared with its large size, and with no need to work inside the factory) the best choice is a telescopic lift.
Whereas, moving large loads with small cranes in narrow spaces, in some cases with electric power so to work inside industrial plants, definitely requires self propelling cranes.
Actually your cranes are very compact, with high loading power...
Sometimes people are astonished in seeing these very compact cranes lifting such heavy loads. I wish to remind that our cranes have a total steering range of 180°, so that the machine rotates upon itself. These cranes also feature forefront technological contents, such as last generation load limiting device with display that shows both the loaded weight as well as the weight that is possible to lift. and all the safety information; Sauer Danfoss proportional distributor commanded by a joystick, that allows precise movements and perfect control of the boom and accessories (winch, hydraulic jib ...); last generation electronic controls, fully programmable; modern and comfortable cabins, seats with springing adjustment, so to appease vibrations; windows that can be opened, windscreen wipers and heating on request.
You have chosen to install the joystick on all your machines...
Yes, the choice was made for innovation’sake. We have been installing the joystick with proportional distributor on our cranes since 10 years, starting from the 7 tons model. We have a deep knowledge and trust in Sauer Danfoss technology, and this choice was also due to our care for the customer, and our productive philosophy .
Which are the latest developments on the Galizia range?
We have just delivered the first F200 cranes, a new model with special dimensions and technological details, offering very high performances.
Very soon we shall present in detail the new F200 together with F250E, shown at SAIE last year, and .also a small 2 tons self propelled crane, guided by a helm and handled by a double electronic control. Our short term plans include also the planning of a higher power crane.
The figures after the letters F and G describe the lifting power of our cranes, so in these cases we are speaking about 200 and 250 quintals respectively.
Which are your best sellers?
We have a wide range, starting from the planned 2 tons model up to the largest 25 tons crane. All of them may be fitted with diesel power supply and hydrostatic system, or with electric power and electronic control.. Presently the best seller is the G150 crane, in its electric version, sold to companies who perform machinery handling. Many customers have appreciated both its high lifting power and its ability to move in very narrow spaces, as well as its reliability, based on its constant updating and improving, made upon the suggestions and the advices of our customers.
The G150 cranes together with the G60/G70 and G35E versions are very appreciated in the industrial maintenance field, in the assembly lines, in the metal working departments, in the steel works, in the nautical and marble slabs sectors...Our pick and carry cranes are very useful particularly for handling machinery parts and equipments in the earth movement market.
Let us talk about export. Where are the Galizia pick and carry cranes mostly exported?
Our main market still is the Italian market, while export absorbs about 30% of our production. The most established markets are Belgium and Netherland, and in the last years there has been a significant increase in the French market too.
We got also very good results in the UK market, thanks to the help of an important local distributor, who brought our brand to very important shows such as SED and Vertikal Days and takes good care of our distribution in UK.
Since the beginning of 2008 we have started, through a distributor, important initiatives on the Spanish market, taking part in important shows, and are working now with a new German partner so to increase the number of customers in Germany. We hope, within the end of 2008, to tackle the ever increasing Russian market too.....
How do you deal with customer care?
Our cranes have reached the highest reliability level, and notwithstanding the large number of Galizia cranes on the market, the number of technical assistance interventions required by our customers is still very low. These requests are mostly about servicing and preventive check up.
However, assistance is always a strong point of our company policy: we have both specialised personnel and specially equipped trucks who can reach our customers in Italy and abroad, and in some parts of Italy and Europe several partners who cooperate with us in supplying the best assistance to our clients.