Founder interview: Montanari’s success story
In recent decades, with the rapid development of global economy, the acceleration of urbanization and people’s pursuit of convenient life, elevator has been more and more widely used. As a key part of elevator, the market scale of elevator tractor is growing. Montanari, from Italy, stands out among many domestic and foreign brands and has won the long-term trust of many customers, becoming the world’s leading tractor manufacturer with the most international competitiveness, by virtue of constantly improving the craftsman spirit and fully demonstrating the excellent quality of “Made in Italy”. Today, we will share an interview with Mr. Giulio Montanari, the founder of Montanari, to reveal the story behind the rapid development of Montanari and the future development plan.
Question 1: When did this tractor journey begin?
A: “For me, the journey goes back to 1970, when I worked for Fiat, a famous Italian car company. The elevator industry was booming at the time, so I decided to start my journey with the production of elevator components.Shortly afterwards,my wife Orianna Benetti, joined me on this adventure, so I can say that Montanari’s story started with us.With expectations and dreams, the two of us continue to contribute and lead Montanari to develop step by step.”
Question2: What goal do you set for yourself?
A: “For me, it’s my dream to be an entrepreneur who creates value for others. One step at a time, we choose to manufacture elevator parts to start. With the in-depth understanding and accumulation of experience in elevator, Montanari has formed a unique process and technology in the construction of elevator traction mechanism. For 50 years, it has been our goal to provide our customers worldwide with quality and efficient elevator tractor solutions. I gave the company my name, Montanari Giulio, and so I became a person and a brand.”
Question 3: How did Montanari develop?
A: “For a long time, Montanari has been synonymous with high quality tractors. Our core development will always be quality, innovation and pioneering. Just eight years after its founding, we launched our first elevator tractor: the M78. Some parts of this model are still in use today, which is something we are very proud of.
Today, Montanari has grown from a small workshop to a factory base of more than 80,000 square meters. In terms of production, more than 40,000 tractors are produced each year in the Headquarters plant in Italy alone, which is a remarkable achievement.
Not only that, we all know that the improvement of the existing elevator tractor solution is very important for the entire elevator industry.Our technical director participated in the design of the European standard for related solutions to promote the safety of the elevator market and contribute to the development of technology.”
Question 4: What do you think of globalization?
A: “Globalization is a great opportunity for Montanari. Although our head office in Italy can directly serve customers in more than 80 countries, we also have branch production sites around the world.
We set up a factory in India in 2008. In this way we have overcome the problems of transportation and customs duties. We have grown to more than 100 employees in India.
In 2016, we set our sights on the Chinese market and established Montanari Drive Technology Co., LTD in Shanghai to get closer to our Chinese customers on the one hand and to understand the local market needs more deeply.
My only regret is that my wife Orianna passed away in 2011 and was not with me to witness the growth and success of Montanari. She dedicated her life to Montanari. I’m sure she was with us in another way, watching over Montanari, but it would feel different if she were still there.”
Question 5: What are your prospects for the future?
A: “The future development will need to be gradual. At present, we hope to continuously improve the manufacturing process and technology of traction mechanism, and continue to provide customers with high-quality elevator traction products and services. In 2016, we introduced the world’s leading test tower and Internet of Things technology, and became one of the first elevator tractor manufacturers to develop applications for customers, in order to provide customers with faster professional technical support.
Today the management of the company is under the direction of my son, Massimo Montanari, He is leading Montanari to the highest heights in the elevator industry
with the same passion.”
In the future, Montanari will not forget its original intention, always adhere to the customer demand first, maintain the excellent quality of traction machine with rigorous standards, increase investment in R&D and innovation, and establish itself at the forefront of the future elevator market with customers.
