Bonfiglioli is Europe’s third largest manufacturer of gearmotors and is dedicated to international development. The group registered a turnover of around 700 million Euros in 2007. More importantly, Bonfiglioli has always viewed research and development as core values in its strategy for the future.

Over the years, R&D has enabled Bonfiglioli to anticipate many changes in the market; the group’s current position as leader in the wind turbine sector emphasizes how effective this approach has been.

The agreement recently signed between Bonfiglioli and the University of Modena, one of Italy’s top universities in terms of teaching quality and ties with industry, is yet another lever in Bonfiglioli’s strategy for development. Research is not only a factor in competition, but a force able to give industry a fundamental role in national growth. This concept is driving the exploration of new ways to accelerate change within Bonfiglioli and improve the group’s ability to adapt to evolving global conditions.

The protocol of co-operation was signed and ratified on the 26/05/08 between the University of Modena on one part and Bonfiglioli S.p.A. on the other. Under the terms of the agreement, the two parties will create and develop joint study and research programmes in areas of mutual interest, with the assistance of the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. In particular, the agreement involves the organisation of periods of work experience for students, degree theses on themes suggested by Bonfiglioli and technical study visits to the company’s factories. These activities will be complemented by technical refresher courses for Bonfiglioli personnel by lecturers from the university’s Faculty of Engineering.

Top Bonfiglioli managers will also hold seminars as part of the university’s teaching programme and finance will be arranged for research doctorates in agreement with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and its Doctorate in High Mechanics and Automotive Design and Technology.

This agreement of co-operation represents a major step forward for Bonfiglioli, since it will see the group’s own R&D department boosted by the advanced skill portfolio of a leading university in the study and development of scientific applications for the design and industrialisation of future product ranges. The protocol of co-operation will remain in force for 3 years, after which it may be renewed for a similar period. This is the first of a series of agreements with international university institutions destined to involve Bonfiglioli as partner in the development of synergy between those promoting the culture of innovation and those applying it in their daily work.