30 Jan Success – Mecar Style!
In just five years this historic Salerno based company has exploded onto the scene in a big way, and now holds 15% of heavy truck traffic in Italy.
24 months to completely restructure the team, revamp procedures and make investments in technology. In 5 years, Mecar, industrial vehicles branch of tnow presents itself as a growing player he F.Ferrajoli & C. group, with 62 years of history and a healthy balance sheet, has completely rehashed its business model and today is a growing player with 20% of sales generated overseas.
This has not been a mere makeover, but a structural renewal which has rendered the businesses efforts more cohesive and has made it a true competitor on the European market.
It was not simple to do, but the Ferrajoli family forged ahead like one of the trucks their business is based upon an with a firm belief in the investment and the changes made they now find themselves holdin 15% of the national Iveco market with a distribution covering the whole of the South excluding Sicily and some parts of Puglia.
With the arrival of the crisis the automotive sector, which had been until then strongly focused on the sale of new vehicles, had to undergo a radical change: this necessity was understood quickly by the Ferrajolis and the company changed course, completely up-ending many of the daily practices of the sector.
In 2009, 80% of the company’s turnover was derived from vehicle sales, a stark contrast with today where the sale of high value added services brings sustainability, satisfaction and differentiation to the company balance sheet.
A new world, pioneering choices and courage which has continued to supply encouraging results across all business units.
The flag-bearer for these changes is Gianandrea Ferrajoli, Managing Director of Mecar who rejoined the family business in 2009 and who immediately saw clearly that in order to survive in a mature but ever more strategic market like transport the company would have to focus on innovation. «Salerno is still a crucial nerve centre for transport thanks to its position between two international ports which intercept big players headed overseas and coming from overseas to whom Mecar can offer bespoke services including telematics. This is where the new battle for the transport sector will be fought out: the reduction of vehicle downtime and improvements in client productivity“.
The last step of the change, which is not only generational but so much more, will invlive the auto branch which is where the other two young managers, Luigi and Francesco Ferrajoli, come into play. After years of experience outwith the family businesses, they will be at the helm of the company founded in 1952 by their grandfather Francesco, who brought the Fiat brand to the salerno area, during its restructuring.
If it is true that the future can be devined more accurately by looking at the roads and the businesses than from the pages of the newspapers, then it must be true that Mecar, thanks to the changes it has undergone and is still undergoing, is destined for an ever brighter future.