Called the Acciarium Alliance, the partnership brings together Italy’s Automazioni Industriali Capitanio and i.Process and Germany’s Kern Industrie Automation and SICON.

Mauro Bianchi Ferri

The alliance is a project of Mauro Bianchi Ferri, who is serving as Acciarium’s managing director. He has held positions with ABB and Union Carbide and left equipment manufacturer Tenova to create the alliance.

“It was rather complicated to leave a big company,” he said. "That’s why it took me so long to start up this idea, which I always had in mind.” 

The goal of the alliance is to provide complementary and innovative products and services to steelmakers. By working together, the companies believe they can offer quicker and integrated solutions.

“I strongly believe that there is a great future for mid-sized companies that share their passion and competencies,” Bianchi Ferri said. “By using the synergies created among the partners, the value added for customers will be multiplied.”   

He stressed that the alliance is not a merger. Rather, he said, the companies will cooperate on projects, but will remain independent.