For over half century, Bordignon has provided concrete and reliable solutions to the different requirements of the industrial system, increasingly oriented to the use of high-quality components. Dynamic and flexible, the group headquartered in Vicenza plays a protagonist role and represents a reference partner for numerous manufacturing sectors, on both a national and international scale.
In a course started 60 years ago as small family-owned company, Bordignon brand has succeeded in standing out in the market of nitrogen gas springs, solutions for forming systems and springs, becoming renowned as reference company in the development of new technological solutions, through various growth steps. An evolutionary course that has led the Group to differentiate its product lines, maintaining the production fully in Italy, to supply various sectors that encompass the prevailing and competitive automotive, household appliances and industrial forming. Three generations and a history that well represents the Italian industrial culture: a small spring manufacturer established in 1958, in the early phases of the economic boom, grown in the glorious bicycle sector and become, along the years, a brand renowned on a world scale where tradition and made-in-Italy innovation have always converged. In short, a strong propensity for standing out on the market for the capability of innovating high-quality products and services. Not fortuitously, the company was the first – in the production sector of nitrogen gas springs – that achieved the UNI EN ISO 9002 certification (now UNI EN ISO 9001) for the quality system application. «Our philosophy – explains the managing director, Alberto Bordignon – consists in offering and proposing the market high-quality products, featuring unequalled performances, incomparable reliability and safety.
The research of new and better solutions and of a more and more efficient customer service are our strong points».
Back to the origins but casting a glance at the future
Precisely on the occasion of the celebration of 60 years since its foundation, the company has undertaken a course for the redefinition of its brand identity, whose results will be made increasingly tangible for the market since today and in the course of next months. «It is, in some ways, a return to our origins but with turning our eyes to the future – states Bordignon, recalling the claim of this new course – because all product lines, which in time had been identified with dedicated brands, are grouped under the corporate brand “Bordignon”». A single brand, as one is the philosophy that inspires all the actions undertaken by the company: investing in research, innovation and new technologies to extend the borders and to go on proposing the approach to total quality that distinguishes the brand in the market. «Differentiating the various product lines with dedicated brands – further adds Bordignon – has been useful to communicate and to let the market perceive the new development ambits, as they were implemented in our offer. Now that the company enjoys a sound ranking in the sectors of springs, nitrogen gas springs and solutions for forming systems, our will is converging everything under Bordignon corporate brand. A brand renowned in the markets where we operate as synonym of innovation, guarantee of reliability and quality of products and technical after sales service». Innovation that for the company has always represented a distinguishing feature. «Already in the Eighties – underlines Bordignon – we designed the first autonomous miniaturized nitrogen gas springs. Executions that, compared with wire springs, at that time commonly used for dies, granted absolutely higher force and longer service life». The presentation to the market of the new family of nitrogen gas springs called Top dates back instead to 1992, on the occasion of Chicago Exhibition. «A product range – adds Bordignon – that represented in absolute the most compact and powerful choice of cylinders ever produced until then». A primacy, unsurpassed for several years, which marked the pace for the development of the successive products that introduced smaller formats (like the Sml series), increased forces up to 100% (Cs series), added new diameters and developed exclusive performances like the self-lubricating system, the resistance to high-temperatures, the slowed down recovery and the timed motion. Approach to innovation that has become more and more challenging, up to the application of nanotechnologies and new synthesis materials in the company’s products. «We were the first, and until now unique in the world– states Bordignon with pride – who have applied nanotechnologies in gas springs for a long time now». With the “pioneering” approach that has always characterized its brand, Bordignon has introduced two new important innovations based on the development of nanotechnologies applied to some series of nitrogen gas springs identified with the names WiperTech and Nano-Tech2.
The added-value of the 100% in-house production
As already hinted, as distinguishing for Bordignon is the pride of a fully made-in-Italy production, exclusively carried out inside its plants. «Our task – affirms Bordignon – is assuring, through the quality of our products, the efficiency and the performance of the manufacturing chains of complex and demanding sectors we supply, i.e. automotive, household appliances and industrial forming. This is our mission. Only highly specialized manpower, production sites that exploit advanced technologies and severe quality controls allow us to keep this engagement. However, by constantly investing in research and development and maintaining the production completely in Italy, we have succeeded in making the company and the reputation of our brand grow, and the constant innovation is the value that allows us “to make the difference” on the market». By Bordignon, lathes are loaded with certified-quality steel produced in Italy, all heat treatments, grinding and all other manufacturing processes are in-house executed, with scrupulous controls in all machining phases. «Moreover – further explains Bordignon – we produce the seals and even the valves to succeed in achieving components purposely studied for gas springs. Therefore, they are not multipurpose commercial products but specific solutions that provide further added value to the production». Production and processes to which the company has always paid utmost attention in the upgrading of its machine fleet, not only in terms of productive capacity but also of machining quality. Not fortuitously, at Bordignon Industry 4.0 is just a further opportunity. Certainly, it was not the “mainspring” to change mentality. «For over ten years – confirms Bordignon – we have relied on an internal division entrusted with the development of all automations needed by our processes. Undoubtedly, Industry 4.0 usefully acted as accelerator of a process anyway already in progress for some time. The flexibility of our products mirrors the one of our production. Ready to anticipate markets and, at the same time, in its turn called to anticipate the use of state-of-the-art technologies. In the early Nineties, we already started investing in revolutionary technological solutions for that epoch. Still today, in our workshops we do not use machines with more than 6-7 years of service life».
The successful keys at the market service
The efficiency and the performance of a manufacturing chain depend on the choice of the technological components: starting from this preliminary assumption, it is clear that the best possible investment is betting on quality. «Quality – ends Bordignon – in our sector is the result of several components, among them: safety, reliability, performances and duration. Therefore, I daresay that the successful factor is aiming at “total quality” and making it perceived by our customers: in this way, we can globally spread the excellence of the Italian technological know-how». Bordignon provides a resolute and determinate vision, well defining the successful keys of a company that, in these first sixty years of activity, has succeeded in consolidating its protagonist role. Besides representing a reference partner for numerous manufacturing sectors, on both national and international scale. The latter to be meant worldwide, from Germany to Japan, from China to United States, with an export of a made-in-Italy excellence that today results in about 80% of the turnover.
60 years of history
1958 –Bordignon is established as small family-owned company that operates in the field of springs for bicycle saddles and, afterwards, in industrial springs for sprung bed bases and mattresses.
1985 – The first nitrogen gas springs are produced with Bordignon brand.
1991 –The company Bordignon Simone, which operates in the production of accessories and components for dies, is set up.
1991 – The new manufacturing site is built at Grigno, in Trento province, where they develop in fast succession and they release for the first time on the market, ultra-compact nitrogen gas springs, self-lubricated and integrated with nanotechnologies.
2001 – The Group takes the current structure.
2013 – According to a vision pursuing the geographical expansion, Bordignon is present with a commercial division in Czech Republic that operates with the B Wide Trading brand.
2014 –The B-feder brand is established for the production of springs for dies.
2018 –Bordignon Group celebrates 60 years since its foundation.
Nanotechnologies applied to nitrogen gas springs
Bordignon has been, and is until now, the only company in the word that has applied nanotechnologies to gas springs, with the “pioneering” approach that has always characterized the brand. The company has recently introduced two important innovations based on the development of nanotechnologies applied to the series of nitrogen gas cylinders called Csx, Smlx, Msml, Cx, Csmx, Micx and Mcsm, identified with the names WiperTech and Nano-Tech2. The innovative technology called WiperTech, in particular, assures a better protection against contaminants and liquids often present on dies, thus extending the potential duration of nitrogen gas springs under such use conditions. The advantage for users is the notable reduction of production downtimes thanks to the better service life of nitrogen gas springs in aggressive environment, too. The name Nano-Tech2 identifies instead the new nanotechnology, developed still by Bordignon, which allows increasing the work speed, i.e. the cycles per minute, by 150% (more than the double), compared to the previous standard models by the Vicenza company, without outer lubrication delivery. The advantage for users is the possibility of scoring up to 60% shorter time for each production batch/press operation. The new Nano-Tech2 nanotechnology allows also extending in even more notable way, compared to the previous version, the duration of nitrogen gas springs in case of stem machining stroke not perpendicular to the base. A remarkable reduction of production downtimes caused by structural or die-use anomalies is so attained.
