A company in the engineering industry in support of alternative mobility. An Italian excellence that believes in respecting the environment and promotes a green production line. This is what Ursus is today. What will it become tomorrow?
The battle for the climate conservation of our planet begins with each and every one of us. We know this only too well here at Ursus. Our historic engineering business has chosen to focus its activities on the design and production of components devised to support the development of mobility on bicycles. But that’s not all: Ursus SpA has in fact decided to become the engine of change by abiding by green ethics also with regard to the clean processing of raw materials, thus promoting a vision of all-round respect. Respect for the environment, therefore, but also respect for our employee’s occupational health and safety.
URSUS, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Despite the difficulties ensuing from the global medical emergency, Ursus SpA is preparing to tackle 2021 with optimism. The company continues to grow and today looks to the future thanks also to the consolidation process undertaken in recent years, which culminated in the refurbishment of the operational headquarters in Rosà (Vicenza). The refurbishment work, which was completed before the nationwide lockdown last spring, provided Ursus with a latest-generation production plant and executive offices.
There are many aspects of excellence which the new pole has achieved.
- First of all, we need to point out how it constitutes a new outpost of excellence Made in Italy, which in itself entails considerable environmental advantages, for instance the reduced CO2 emissions. The shortening of a supply chain that normally relies heavily on imports in fact allows fewer containers to arrive from Asia.
- Moreover, a genuine process of complete reorganisation of the production supply chain has been implemented, extending and refurbishing it according to the principles of Industry 4.0 and the highest European quality standards (ISO 9001 and ISO 14001). The pursuit of an objective of this entity, which is fundamental according to the company’s vision, required massive investments. In fact, the space dedicated to the manufacturing and storage of products has increased, thanks to the construction of a second industrial hangar spanning 3,000 square metres, which has supplemented the existing 9,000 square-metre one. The new facility is dedicated to “clean” production, which includes the storage and assembly of semi-finished components, while the existing area has been reorganised to contain the heavy processing of raw materials.
All production activities are today managed via M.E.S. (Manufacturing Execution System) and S.P.C. (Statistical Process Control). The former is a management tool that allows us to optimise processes and thus increase the productivity of the plant and improve the environmental conditions, while the latter is monitoring software that uses big data to provide an entire series of statistics which are useful to the continuous improvement of our plant equipment. Ursus has also made storage operations smarter thanks to the new Modula automatic warehouse and the Stockforce WMS management software.
Technology catering to business needs is supported by a massive photovoltaic system that produces 550 KWh of clean electricity. Waste management has also been rationalised. An example? The cloths used for various processing operations are recycled, always in view of the maximum sustainability of our operations.
LESS PLASTIC, MORE “GREEN”
We haven’t only focused on clean processing. Ursus SpA is also committed to eliminating as many polluting materials from the packaging of its products as possible. Indeed, the company is pursuing a plan for the progressive reduction in the use of plastic. The first Ursus branded “plastic free” packaging is already in production and will contain the dedicated aftermarket cycle stands. To carry out this project, Ursus conducted an in-depth study into the stability of the supports and subsequently arranged for the progressive replacement of shelf packaging.
The company’s “green” vocation has also been disclosed to the employees, whose awareness has been raised as to the importance of a sustainable attitude thanks to the distribution of a free gift aluminium Thermos flask bearing the slogan “less plastic, more green”.
QUALITY PAYS OFF
The path taken by Ursus is not, and has certainly never been, an easy one. The extensive financial efforts to make our premises and production process more sustainable have been appreciated however on the market, allowing the company in the last decade to double its turnover and increase the number of employees. This has made it possible for Ursus to end the year 2020 with a strong turnover growth compared to the same period the previous year, both in terms of “premium” components such as our wheel sets, as well as in terms of “urban” components such as our kickstand, seat clamp and hubs. An outstanding example of how quality often pays off.
