At the recent K Show in Düsseldorf, Rodolfo Comerio, the historic Italian mechanical company based in Solbiate Olona (VA) and a global leader in the production of calenders for rubber and plastic, presented a renewed organizational structure and a series of innovations that mark a new chapter in its development.
This group interview reflects the company’s ongoing evolution, built on dialogue, the sharing of expertise, and a shared vision focused on sustainable innovation and internal collaboration.
The 2025 edition of the K Show represented one of the most significant milestones in Rodolfo Comerio’s long history. Founded in 1878, the company took part in the event with several important updates, beginning with a new commercial organization designed to strengthen its presence in global markets.
The sales team has expanded with the addition of Nicola Simondo, newly appointed Head of Sales for the Plastic Industries division, and Alessandro Bonfanti, Sales Manager for the Rubber division. At the same time, the company has begun a restructuring of its technical departments to improve responsiveness to customer needs and to give new impetus to the innovation process.
The new technical and commercial team was welcomed with great enthusiasm, confirming the reliability and expertise that have always characterized the Rodolfo Comerio brand as a reference point in Italian precision mechanics. The introduction of these new roles concludes the reorganization process started at the end of 2024, following the generational transition that brought Nicola Fedele and Francesco Fiamminghini to the positions of Managing Directors.
Strategic evolution and market growth
Nicola Fedele, Executive Managing Director Sales, Marketing, R&D and Business Development at RC, expressed a particularly positive view of the latest edition of the show.
“The efforts made in recent years to expand our network of agents and enhance territorial coverage are yielding concrete results, with a significant return in terms of new contacts and commercial opportunities,” he stated.
A source of particular satisfaction comes from the resilient flooring sector, an area in which Rodolfo Comerio has consolidated expertise.
“Our experience in the resilient flooring segment,” added Fedele, “has proven to be the winning card for maintaining our position as a leading company in terms of innovation and research.” Demonstrating this leadership, RC recently completed the installation of a new resilient flooring production line for one of the world’s major players in the flooring sector. The new line, capable of producing up to 14 tons per hour of material, represents the fifth installation for the same customer, confirming the strength and continuity of a long-term partnership.
Francesco Fiamminghini, Executive Managing Director Purchases, Finance and Logistics at RC, also expressed satisfaction with the new technological collaborations launched during the exhibition. “We are particularly proud of the synergies developed with some of the main suppliers of automation systems. Among these, the collaboration with TIELEMETRY® stands out, representing an important step towards greater integration between precision mechanics and the digitalization of production processes,” he explained.
This partnership aims to make Rodolfo Comerio’s calenders and plants increasingly connected, intelligent and sustainable, transforming process data into valuable insights to enhance machine performance and reliability.
A growing market for high-precision machinery
The experience at the K Show clearly confirmed that the high-precision machinery market continues to attract significant investment, despite the current geopolitical complexity and fluctuations in consumer demand.
The RC commercial team returned from Düsseldorf with encouraging signals from both the plastics and rubber sectors, reaffirming the solidity, innovation and strategic vision that have guided Rodolfo Comerio worldwide for almost 150 years.
The central theme of this year’s K Show was the search for alternatives to traditional PVC processing through calendering. Customers are investing in the development of new polymers, exploring applications in areas not previously served by the calendering industry.
“Once again, we arrived ready to meet customer demands, and the effort put into the realization of the new CCTC is proof of this,” said Nicola Simondo, highlighting Rodolfo Comerio’s ongoing commitment to turning technological challenges into concrete opportunities for sustainable innovation.
The Comerio calendering technology center
The Comerio Calendering Technology Center (CCTC) is the result of a long-term strategic investment, developed in cooperation with ICMA San Giorgio, which supplied the extruders. The Center provides an integrated operational environment dedicated to the development, experimentation and validation of innovative calendering processes on an industrial scale.
Research activities at the Center are coordinated by Lorenza Marchini, a professional with extensive experience in thermoplastic materials and calendering processes. In her role as coordinator, she promotes an integrated approach that combines applied research, sustainability and industrialization, aiming to establish the Center as a reference point for technological innovation.
Her expertise in the formulation and validation of new materials, combined with the ability to interact with designers, technicians and international customers, ensures high-quality standards and tangible results.
Every new project developed by Rodolfo Comerio is based on a tailor-made vision, built around specific customer needs and aligned with the principles of the circular economy, waste reduction and energy efficiency.
The goal is to enable fast production changes and continuous improvement in industrial performance, key factors for competing in a global market that is increasingly focused on sustainability and process optimization.
The pilot lines at the Calendering Center make it possible to work with a wide range of materials, offering a unique environment for applied research and the development of cutting-edge solutions.
This space is not simply a technology center but a true laboratory of ideas, where new horizons for the future of calendering are explored.
A vision for the future
In closing, Carlo Comerio, Chairman of the Board and the driving force behind this important project, summarized the company’s vision. “With this new technology center, we aim to provide companies worldwide with a space where they can test, innovate and improve their production processes by adopting a sustainable approach guided by the data derived from them”.
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