Down but not out - Mantovanibenne restores production capacity

The 5.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked the Italian regions of Modena, Parma and Bologna on 29 May took out more than 3,500 Italian companies who had facilities in the region, including demolition attachment manufacturer Mantovanibenne, whose Mirandola HQ and manufacturing centre was so heavily damaged that it has had to be demolished.

Despite losing its major production facility, Paulo Mantovani told D&Ri that the company has returned to full production capacity as of the middle of June, just five weeks after the quake. This has been achieved by switching production to two other manufacturing plants - a factory in Bulgaria and its joint venture facility in China. The former will now produce the company's range of crushers and pulverisers, with the latter producing the 'Basic' range of tools that were originally intended for the Asian market but which now will also be offered to the European market.

D&Ri was told that, mercifully, none of Mantovanibenne's employees was injured during the two major shocks that hit on the 28^th and 29^th, nor by the more than 2,000 subsequent aftershocks that continue to hit the region. Mantovanibenne has also been greatly assisted during this period of major upheaval by Italian demolition contractors Baraldi and Despe, who freely supplied equipment and personnel to aid the company in its time of trouble.