Successful forgers are successful because they make good decisions, and no decision is more important than the choice of forging production equipment: selecting a press, and selecting a supplier, is a critical decision — and a decision that becomes more challenging in periods of high demand.
Faced with such a decision, many forgers choose reconditioned production equipment, and fortunately there are reliable suppliers of those machines. One of these, Silini Press, offers the assurance of several decades of experience in the business of selecting and reconditioning forging machinery, a specialty that Vittorio Romano Silini began to develop in Northern Italy in 1959, as an extension of the family’s steel scrap business. Buying up the assets of bankrupt steel forming operations and offering the idle equipment for sale emerged then as a parallel activity to the scrap trade.
By the 1980s, acquiring and trading of second-hand hot-forging machinery had become a separate line of business. “Now, it’s our main business,” explained daughter Patrizia Silini, the current copartner and business developer, “plus the workshop where we carry on the overhauling of these machines.”
Acquiring idle hot forging equipment and reconditioning it for new demand is a growing business. Silini Press is in the process of opening a branch operation in Aurangabad, India, even as it continues to exploit the opportunities in the European market. It is preparing to transfer its main operation to a larger location in Lombardy, near Milan, Italy. “We turnover more that 10-20 large, hot forging machines every year, and we need a bigger roof crane and warehouse,” Ms. Silini reported.
“We mainly focus on mechanical presses and hammers, of any type,” she added. “When we collect bankrupt companies we collect any type of machine.”
The availability of used and/or idle equipment continues to be centered in Europe, but the need for reconditioned forging equipment is global. “All companies use second-hand and reconditioned machineries,” Ms. Silini observed. She added that presently there is a good supply of “disused” pneumatic hammers, while hydraulic hammers are in the greatest demand at the present time.
The overhauling of disused presses will depend upon the starting condition, as some require more extensive work than simply machining of worn parts, recalibrating dimensional accuracy, etc. In some cases the press components that endure the most stress in operation (e.g., connecting rods or crank shafts) may be milled or rebuilt, and this will lead to a more extensive rebuilding that will prolong the restoration.
All the work is done using top-quality products and technology, and Silini Press capabilities are fully in line with safety regulations and CE certifications.
Every project, moreover, is overseen by machinists and technicians that specialize in the reconditioning process, and each case includes preparation of a new log of photos, schematics, and technical drawings to be provided to the new operator. Every reconditioned machine is subjected to cold testing at the workshop and at the customer’s location. And, upon request Silini Press will perform functional testing, too.
Even amidst the growing demand for its equipment and capabilities, Silini Press continues to be a family business offering the flexibility and attention to details that defined its successful progress. Its resources and capabilities are fully available — visit www.silinipress.com — to forgers that need to make a good choice, a successful choice for "new" forging machinery.