Craftsmanship and automation: for Formenti, they go hand in hand perfectly!
- Technologies for surface treatment
Formenti Group is a manufacturer of wooden and wood-aluminium windows and doors that has chosen to stand out for the high-quality finishing of its products. Its story is one of a company that has successfully combined tradition, creativity and advanced technology by investing in a fully automated Superfici finishing line to ensure high productivity, consistent quality and total process control.
A company rooted in craftsmanship, grown through innovation and now looking ahead with increasingly automated and sustainable processes. This is the story of Formenti Group, a Lombardy-based company specialising in wooden, wood-aluminium, PVC and aluminium windows and doors, which has evolved over time without ever losing its identity.
The roots of Formenti Group date back to the late 1950s, when Pietro Formenti founded a small joinery workshop in Pozzolengo, in the province of Brescia, specialising in furniture and restoration. His intuition and entrepreneurial spirit soon led him to shift towards the production of wooden windows and doors, becoming by the 1970s a well-established company in the Lake Garda area, employing around fifteen people. In the 1980s, the second generation - brothers Diego and Umbertino Formenti - relocated the company to its current premises, continuing along a path defined by quality and craftsmanship.
Today, the company employs around thirty people with an average age of 32—relatively young compared to the industry average—and shows strong attention to technological and digital developments. Much of the credit goes to Fabio Formenti, CEO and son of Diego, who - until 2015 - had very different career plans.
“Yes,” he comments, “after completing my studies as a surveyor, I worked for several years in the IT and telecommunications sectors, as I have always been passionate about computers. Then, in 2015, my father asked me to help with CNC machine programming—and let’s just say I got drawn in!” Fabio jokes about it, but today he is fully satisfied with this choice and with how the family business has evolved.
“When I joined the company, production was still largely manual, with outdated machinery and an ageing workforce,” he recalls. “I decided to invest in technology to make the business more attractive to younger generations and more efficient in its processes.”
Tailor-made windows and doors
Formenti Group manufactures a complete range of wooden and wood-aluminium windows and doors, as well as interior doors and insulated entrance doors certified in RC3 security class. The latter represent a high-performance alternative to traditional security doors, offering improved thermal insulation values.
The company’s strength lies in flexibility and high product customisation: “We have developed a modular window system that allows our dealers to adapt every section according to their needs. It’s a way to preserve the tradition and mindset of traditional joineries, while using modern digital tools and ensuring high industrial precision.” Formenti Group’s products are supplied to specialised dealers as well as new construction projects, both in residential and public sectors, with growing attention to aesthetics and material sustainability.
Finishing as added value: the Superfici line from SCM
In 2024, the company took a further step forward by installing a complete and automated Superfici finishing line. The system features an anthropomorphic Maestro robot as its “conductor”, combined with an overhead conveyor, flow coater and drying system. This investment has doubled Formenti Group’s productivity while further raising quality standards. “With the new Superfici line, we can finish up to 50 windows per day with a three-coat cycle, ensuring perfectly repeatable results—something that was impossible with manual spraying,” explains Fabio Formenti. “In addition, automated colour and dosing management reduces waste and removes dependency on individual operator skills, which is crucial at a time when it is increasingly difficult to find highly qualified labour.”
SCM and Superfici: a single partner
Another factor influencing the choice of the Superfici system was the long-standing relationship with SCM. Walking through the Formenti Group facility, one can still find real “historical pieces”: old SCM woodworking machines originally purchased by Pietro. Not far from these stands a CNC machining centre for drilling and routing solid wood - an “accord wd” with automated loading and unloading systems—which has enabled the company to optimise production times and ensure high precision in finished components.
“With this machining centre, we have automated window production, reduced errors and achieved reliable production timelines. Thanks to this solution, the first window of the day, at 8 a.m., is already ready for sanding.”
The real strength of the proposed solution lies in the operator’s ability to easily and efficiently prepare a loading buffer. Once set up, the machine’s loading and unloading processes are fully automated. This allows the operator to avoid constant supervision during operation, freeing up time to focus on higher value-added tasks such as quality control, process supervision, or supporting other production activities. The result is a significant improvement in both efficiency and resource utilisation.
Given the excellent results achieved with the “accord wd”, continuing the partnership with Superfici—SCM’s finishing brand of excellence—was a natural choice: a shared vision focused on quality, innovation and reliability across the entire production process. “I wanted a single partner, also for service and support. SCM convinced me with its expertise, technical support and solid reputation. Today, I can say it was the right choice.”
Today, Formenti Group represents a concrete example of how traditional Italian craftsmanship can evolve through technology, investing in sustainable and efficient processes to deliver products of the highest aesthetic quality. But Fabio Formenti has another ambition: “I would like to enter the luxury hotel market, which is particularly strong in the Lake Garda area. The current period is not the easiest, but it would allow us to further expand our production.”
Competition is fierce, but with the technological solutions now in place, the CEO of Formenti Group remains confident and looks to the future with optimism.
