Last May 15, member company Resitape was hard hit by the water bomb that hit the Milan area. In fact, Resitape-which is based in Gessate-was involved in the overflow from the Trobbia stream.
Thanks to entrepreneur Matteo Panizza’s proactivity and speed in contacting a specialized firm, the coordination of RSPP and QHSE Manager Gabriele Tironi, and the willpower and sense of belonging and connection to the company of all employees, Resitape went from 60 cm of water and the closure of the production department, to the resumption of work within a few days, as early as Monday, May 20.
A.P.I. News interviewed Panizza and Tironi to understand the situation.
“The silence and just the noise of the water pumps, was exhausting,” explained Matteo Panizza, “. When the noise of the machines in production was finally heard and then the resumption of activities, we all breathed a sigh of relief. As you can see from the photos, the situation was dramatic. We immediately called the fire department and civil defense, but they told us that they could not intervene because they were, rightly, dealing with the citizenship.
I understand the priorities but to date we have not yet been called back, I think it would be helpful — given the climate change we are witnessing — to have more coordination and timely monitoring alerts even though a stream like the Trobbia had never given problems.
These are thought-provoking situations. With Tironi, we immediately took action to first check the safety of the employees and make sure that the fence wall – Trobbia side – did not give way. That would have been a disaster.”
“We immediately turned off the electricity in production and everyone got to work, from workers to colleagues in the office. For me,” Tironi comments, “organization and safety in the company is essential. That is why we were able to intervene promptly. The employees working in production were put on leave for the next two days, but spontaneously many of them still gave their willingness to lend a hand. Both Panizza and I were very impressed by the attachment they showed to the company.”
“There is a good atmosphere and I thank all the collaborators for their help, which was not to be taken for granted. I also thank A.P.I. who immediately came to see us, I met with the general manager Valvason and the head of the Industrial Relations Service as early as May 17,” Panizza continued, “We were not able to handle everything independently, so we immediately called a Tuscan company that specializes in handling these emergencies.
It arrived on the morning of May 16, and from there we accelerated the schedule and finally reopened as early as Monday. I will remember the night of the 15th, I slept in the company for any needs and in case the company or civil defense arrived first; but most of all I will remember the positive energy and strength of the whole Resitape.”
Resitape is a manufacturing company specializing in paste extrusion of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) powder. They produce a wide range of sintered, unsintered and expanded PTFE tapes, films and filaments to recognized international standards.
