Dr Roberto Mona is convinced on the benefits of running a vertically integrated family company. "We are in a position to control our destiny," says the chairman of Italian aerospace manufacturer Secondo Mona. "In an emergency, we can manage everything internally."
Not only that, but any profits independent owners might be tempted to extract can be spent on investment instead. "Our shareholders have taken a strategic decision not to take any return for 10 years. Any money we make is ploughed back in," Mona explains.
Such thinking has allowed Lombardy-based Secondo Mona to reinvent itself down the four generations since its eponymous founder began repairing bicycles in 2003 before moving into aviation equipment manufacturing and repair a decade later.
Roberto Mona's son and daughter are now executives in the business, which employs 232 staff and had a turnover of €33 million ($44 million) last year.
The company's main product lines are AC and DC fuel pumps, hydraulic and air valves, manifolds and actuators, although it also builds-to-print landing-gear equipment for Messier-Dowty, which is supplying the Boeing 787's main landing gear.
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Secondo Mona builds-to-print landing-gear equipment for Messier-Dowty, which supplies Boeing 787's main landing gear |
The main platforms for its proprietory equipment include the Eurofighter Typhoon - Secondo Mona supplies Alenia Aeronautica - and also Alenia Aermacchi's M-346, for which it designs and produces the fuel and brake control systems. It supplies fuel system equipment on the Alenia C-27J transport and for several AgustaWestland helicopter types. "We are growing very fast with Pilatus," says managing director Sergio Bogni.
With Eurofighter production near a peak and steady sales on the C-27J, revenues skew towards the military sector, but Bogni is confident the ramp-up of Dreamliner production will help Secondo Mona meet its target to double civil revenues to 40% by the end of 2012.
A spread of customers across manufacturers and sectors is important as programmes wax and wane, says Bogni. "It means that if we break an egg, we suffer but we do not die. Eurofighter is our biggest platform, but this will go down."
A tour through Secondo Mona's premises at Somma Lombardo illustrates the company's commitment to investment and vertical integration - and the advantages of its family ownership.
Although the site itself is old - some buildings date from the foundation of the business - the directors have spent heavily on manufacturing and test equipment and are still expanding the facilities. The fact Secondo Mona owns the property and much of the land around it helps. Its management team are advocates of the Japanese kaizen principle of constant improvement.
Gleaming new machining consoles and test booths are testimony to Secondo Mona's commitment to keep on a forward trajectory, regularly pumping a tenth of its revenues back into capital spending. "As a result, we have had steady growth for 10 years," says Bogni.
Source: Flight International
