Errevi Legatoria Editoriale has been on the market for over 50 years. A story made of passion, sacrifices and a lot of willpower, the one that brought Mr. Oggioni to take over the company in which he worked as an employee. After his premature death in 2004, today the company is carried on by his sons Luca and Simone who have given an entrepreneurial imprint to what is and remains an artisan activity, but of fundamental importance in the graphic production process
Within the graphic-editorial production process, the binding phase has always been little considered and valued, perhaps because it is taken almost for granted, or because, unlike finishing, it does not add value to a printed matter and therefore often takes a back seat. However, it is an artisanal activity that requires great skills, a certain dexterity, a good investment capacity on the part of companies since technology has a considerable weight in bookbinding, and a lot of passion, the one that perhaps today is a little lacking in young people who in fact hardly approach graphic schools thinking of bookbinding as a professional opportunity.
But as Lorenzo Ariberti, postpress Business Driver at Heidelberg Italia always likes to repeat, “would you ever buy a flat sheet of paper, which, however beautiful and well printed, represents nothing?” The answer is obviously no, and to complete the production process of a printed matter, in this case we are in the publishing sector, bookbinding becomes the absolute protagonist, the one where everything takes shape and with different technologies, can offer the market from a simple staple, to move then on to glued paperback binding or to the more elegant and noble thread stitching.
The fundamental technological investment for a timely and quality service
Being by its nature a subcontractor service, even in bookbinding it is essential to keep up with the times and update the production plants with advanced technologies. And this is the road that was taken by brothers Luca and Simone Oggioni in 2004, when they took over the reins of the company. They have always grown hand in hand with a program of technological investments which today has led them to be a point reference for many publishers. The specialization of this bindery located in Rho (Milan) is in fact school publishing, and thanks to a relationship of trust with many publishers, the work, characterized by a certain cyclical nature during the year, never fails.
“Certainly with covid we have suffered some hard blows, but overall we have always managed to keep ourselves competitive and this thanks to a fleet of machines, which in all departments has always been kept up to date and with technologies always at the top supplied by leading companies in the various sectors. Over the years we have chosen to work in direct contact with publishers, with whom it is possible to obtain quite substantial work packages. Of course, working for various publishing houses, the orders practically arrive all together at the same time and with the same urgencies. Therefore, today being equipped with multiple production lines is absolutely fundamental. Today our only problem is represented by the space that is no longer sufficient for our needs so much so that we are looking for new spaces to expand”, says Simone who divides his day between the machines in production and the office, as is typical for these companies where the owner is almost always the first manager in the plant, while his brother Luca is responsible for the administrative part.
The two new Heidelberg Stahfolder KH 82 Rotary folding machines
2022 was the year of the renewal of the folding department with 3 new lines, 2 of which supplied by Heidelberg, as well as an Easyfly system for cutting the covers with flaps.
Heidelberg is a reference partner for Errevi’s folding technologies with a now consolidated relationship that began in the early 2000s. “I have always appreciated Heidelberg folding machines for their speed and production quality, which together with their ease of use and great reliability make it an indispensable tool for our production”, says Simone.
The last two arrivals, KH 82 machines, combined with pockets and knives, installed in September 2022, are fully automatic, and have been particularly appreciated by operators for their ease of use, speed and quality of folding, which has considerably simplified and eased their tasks. One feature is the extremely fast start-up, as well as the repeatability of jobs which, thanks to smart automation by Heidelberg, make it possible to get to the first ok sheet in a very short time. KH 82 have the ability to produce at least 30% more than traditional folding machines, thanks to the technologies used for their construction. These two installations enjoyed the tax benefits of Industry 4.0 but as Simone Oggioni underlined “having the opportunity to check production data of these folding machines, we realized that we had recovered 25% of time compared to before, with an extremely faster process that supplies material to the stitching lines”.
Training, personnel and collaborations with schools
Legatoria Errevi has a staff of 13 collaborators but in times of work peaks the staff is implemented with the help of temporary workers. Furthermore, there is a relationship of collaboration with some Graphic Institutes and thanks to this exchange there are already three young people who have been included in the workforce after a period of internship.
“Unfortunately, I have seen on my own skin that young people, when they are sent here from schools, have no idea what is done in a bindery, but this is because at schools they prefer the pre-press and printing part in comparison with bookbinding. It’s a great challenge, but we’re very happy with the results we’re getting. When young people come to us, I see that they are lost, but also intrigued and if they understand that this is a job which, although tiring, can give you great satisfaction, they dedicate themselves carefully to learning all its secrets. Furthermore, with new technologies, increasingly digital, having young people who are naturally more predisposed towards new technologies can help even the most expert operators to better understand and accept innovations. The right mix is therefore created that can make the company grow in all its aspects”, concludes Simone
