CUSTOM ELECTRONICS AT THE SERVICE OF INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
S.A.E.T., rooted in Western Italy, has built its identity around custom electronic solutions and is now applying this know-how to industrial automation. By focusing on specialized niches rather than competing with global giants, the company offers tailored, efficient, and innovative solutions that strengthen partnerships and create longterm value.
At S.A.E.T., a well-established company in the agricultural heart of Western Italy, we have been pondering for years what role a company which has had the design and manufacturing of custom electronic solutions in its DNA for over 35 years could play in the world of industrial automation. Competing with the global corporates operating in the sector is certainly out of the question, At S.A.E.T., a well-established company in the agricultural heart of Western Italy, we have been pondering for years what role a company which has had the design and manufacturing of custom electronic solutions in its DNA for over 35 years could play in the world of industrial automation. Competing with but carving out a role in more rewarding and accessible niches for a company with a single operating location in Italy, is a viable option that can repay its commercial and technical efforts and, last but not least, serve a social purpose in the local area. This strategic choice has given rise to a growth plan in the sector that has affected the whole company’s production areas. SAET employs 90 people: more than 15 people in the technical office support the production departments dedicated to the production of electronic boards, wiring harnesses, and machine control panels, thus meeting the needs of numerous customer categories. Manufacturers of automation machinery don’t always need all of SAET’s expertise, but being able to master these skills, as they manage them daily for multiple customers, represents a remarkable added value in actively listening to needs and in the inevitable process of industrializing production: not just a competent supplier, but a true partner capable of suggesting improvements and alternatives that benefit both the customer and SAET.
Tailor-Made electronics and control panels
Going deeper into details, among the areas in which SAET can best express its expertise, the design of custom electronic boards plays a crucial role. Manufacturers of logic controllers for automation can’t be defied easily, but creating interfaces between these devices and electromechanical equipment is a crucial step that electronics giants struggle to execute, both due to the fragmentation of sales volumes and the specific nature of the business, which requires not only process craftsmanship but also rigor and expertise for a result that can be reproduced on a larger scale. Tailor-made electronics offers a series of advantages, from exclusivity, which makes the resulting competitive advantage unbridgeable for the competition, to the optimization of the functional cost which is minimized by eliminating all unnecessary features — features that often have a heightened marketing appeal but in the final analysis are not necessary at all. Another area of development where SAET can be an effective partner is the production of on-board control panels: within an industrialization and mass production development framework, a separated preparation of internal wiring results in an assembly phase more efficient and streamlined. The workers responsible for the panel production can focus more on assembly with reduced timeframes and tangible qualitative results as confirmed by fully automated testing phase. Here again, SAET’s unique added value is a key element: the expertise to understand system’s architecture and operating principles, together with a wide range of issue-management capabilities, sets SAET apart from many of its competitors who operate exclusively in this market.
Efficiency, partnerships and trust
Finally, the competitive advantage afforded by a single purchasing process for the entire company should not be overlooked, as confirmed by the presence of management-level framework agreements with many of the major players in the automation sector, a tangible recognition of the trust placed in SAET and in its ability to drive innovation and efficiency.
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