100% controlling interest in Iprel, a company that specialises in hardware and software design and supervision system development, has been recently gained by Sacmi as part of a broader group-oriented logic. This operation (approved at the Sacmi Imola shareholders' meeting) aims to strengthen the group's ability to develop and deliver digital design and industrial automation services.

With 120 highly qualified technicians, Iprel has, in recent years, gained in strategic importance in terms of both the service it provides to all Sacmi Group divisions and business units and the solutions it develops for third-party customers (also in collaboration with laboratories, universities and research institutions). Hence the decision to raise Sacmi's parent company's share in Iprel from 50% to the current 100%, with a view to further enhancing the ability to supply such services both within the Group and outside it.

"Automation and digitalization", observes the President of Sacmi Imola, Paolo Mongardi, "are vital in today's world. In a smart manufacturing scenario founded on sustainability and efficiency, they are essential to the development of new products and services. This full takeover of Iprel, in fact, follows that logic perfectly by carrying forward an already-begun plan and boosting Sacmi's firepower in these areas".

The year 2019 saw Iprel proceed apace on several development fronts, the main projects concerning advanced big data analysis systems, research into supply chain system technologies and the development of automatic image capture platforms for quality control purposes. In a non-group context, instead, the company developed advanced sensors for biomedical applications.

Iprel will continue to operate as part of the Sacmi "innovation package", which promotes the development of advanced digital innovation services in both the company and the wider world. Further goals for this year include the strengthening and consolidation of partnerships, especially in the big data field, with the aim of setting up new pilot projects for all the group businesses.