I had left stunned after the meeting with Luigi Punzo, CEO of the Tesi company (www.aeronet.it). It is a company that designs, produces and markets components for civil aeronautics on a global scale. I had met Punzo while working at the BCC of Aquara (an Italian bank), getting to know him. He has become a member of the Board of Directors there, and I have always observed his shy and reserved attitude.
From the moment he accepted my interview request and had found some time to meet me right away, he had already made an excellent impression on me. However, I could never have imagined that I would be working with a man who was open, clear, competent and available to help with any problem I faced.
Tesi is located in the business zone of Cicerale. When I arrived a little early in front of the family businesses’ gate after picking up my badge, I was picked up by a nice young lady, named Rosa. She is probably the oldest one, out of the 160 employees who work at the company. While I was waiting, I was able to look around the large entrance hall where I could already get the sense of a “taste” of quality.
There was a small table that had a coffee machine with ceramic cups, a display that showed how much solar energy the solar panels on the roof were producing in real time, and there were a series of magazines lined up on the table available to look through while waiting. Also there was a display of airplane parts produced by the business itself. At the moment the quality could not be defined, but when it is met it can be recognized immediately!
It was Luigi himself who introduced me into his office and a “river” of words began to flow seamlessly for the entire hour that he had devoted to me. We had started talking about Tesi’s history. How in 1973, his father Gabriele, who was already an Aeritalia employee, was enticed by the same company that he was working for to start “his own business.” It was said that after commercial agreements with the United States in NATO, Italy was permitted to increase the supply of parts to the American aeronautical sector, which was experiencing a real boom at the time.
After 8 hours working at the Aeritalia company, Gabriele moved into to a shed located near Naples to develop the family business that includes the whole family, including his wife. At that time, Luigi was 7 years old and he was running in between the machines that were manufacturing airplane parts. The same path was also followed by his other three brothers. At the age of 10 luigi already had his own desk to do his homework.
The family continues to be the backbone of the company. In fact, 11 out of the 18 family members currently work in Tesi. The youngest are still studying and preparing for the future that their grandparents and parents have set up for them.
Tesi had a turnover in 2018 of about 20 million Euros. In total there are 160 employees divided among Naples (30) and Cicerale (130) whom come mostly from the technical institutes of Mattei di Eboli, Valitutti di Roccadaspide and Focaccia di Salerno. Many are aeronautical and mechanical engineers who design, manufacture and control components for small and large planes: for example fuselages, wings, and hatches. In 2018 Tesi has made more than 120,000 aircraft parts for flight safety, and 1,400,000 parts for the interior of an aircraft.
It is important to note that 10% of the staff is exclusively engaged in quality and safety controls. These must be done in a very quickly, especially when it comes to spare parts. Without these the giants of the sky could remain on the ground.
Airbus and Boeing and many other aircraft manufacturers are the customers of this company and they are located in the town of Cicerale. A town of 2000 inhabitants which is situated on the Cilento hill with a flat tongue wedged in the wider area of the industrial area of Mattine di Agropoli. Here many companies are located, almost all of which have come from the industrial belt of Naples.
Together with some good personal relationships with the towns’ administration, which tends to do what it can, there is a need for a stronger focus on companies that produce a bigger revenue so that they can employ a lot more people. The downside about this location is that the roads are almost impassable, there is no sewerage, and the high speed internet for faster connection speeds have reached the small town, but they will not reach the area where these companies need to connect with the world to operate in today’s digital world.
When looking at the security sector, there is a lack of surveillance: there is only one police officer on patrol who has to cover a very large area. A video surveillance system has been set up however it is completely inadequately managed. It would also be necessary to make the area better with a plan that regulates commercial network, extending the network of the use of methane gas.”
Recently companies have been trying to work together with Tesi to coordinate more systematically various types of improvements that need to be requested to the town government. By investing their own resources, they will be able to make life outside of the companies as pleasant as it is inside.
Punzo underlines the fact that his family, like his company, are not just passing through Cilento! On the contrary, they are going even further by investing in other fields: they have bought the Torrito Estate of about 30 hectares of land in the hills, with an olive grove of 3,000 plants and built an oil mill. They have revitalized a vineyard, put into production figs and chickpeas, while also planting pomegranates, almonds and pistachios.
Another investment has been creating and opening of the Elysium. It is a sports centre with a swimming pool, fitness area, fast food, paintball, beauty saloon and news stand. It has been built to make a big impression in a territory that is in shortage of personal services. It also offers brand new alternatives to new generations that have emerging needs for equipped and healthy places to spend their free time.
In respect to the vast area of the National Park of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni Luigi, Punzo has kept a positive attitude. He has been projecting towards the desire of becoming more familiar with it, by using his knowledge to appreciate its environmental, historical and cultural habits.
In fact, over time he has learned more about the territory, because as soon as he has some free time he likes going on excursions to learn about the territory’s characteristics. On his last trip he went to Casaletto Spartano in the beautiful oasis of the “Hair of Venus,” and then to Caselle, in Pittere.
The future of Tesi will not be cut short since it can already be imagined, especially since the company is a well developed business today.
Punzo also accompanied me into a warehouse located in front of two historical buildings, in which the offices, the project sector and the workshops are located. The original structure has been hit by a fire and the owners have decided to relocate the plant and production elsewhere. An extension to the building in 2020 will relocate the Tesi company in about 12,000 square meters of new edifice. The spaces will be cleaned and already refurbished. A new sector has already been planned with work that is dedicated to design, construction, assembly and the testing of drones for civil use.The smaller sized prototype has already been realized and the first one that had been made in real dimensions has already been tested.
This new “piece” will be called Milvus and it will be able to fly both autonomously or guided with remote controls. It can be used for surveillance, rescues at sea, in agriculture and in any other sector that requires a view from the sky.
I must confess that for a long time, I myself, have spent more time focusing on the project of relaunching our newspaper. I have spent less time using my natural desire to bring out from the local people what they have to show and tell, from both the new and old generations. Luigi like many other entrepreneurs has more desire to do than to show! However a good example is worth much more than a thousand good intentions, when its reality with the facts needs to be tested.
It is about time to give a chance to those who to have set an example for the new generations. Anyone who will want to copy them in the run-up to future projects which will be used in other worlds. These however must know that there is space available here for them, just as there was for Luigi, his brothers and their children, and is in the future for their grandchildren.