Danesi Group produces thin-walled blocks in the Capriano del Colle plant

>>1 Exterior view of the Capriano del Colle plant

»2 Kiln exit with fired material

»3 Various types of products on the kiln cars

»4 The stock of dies

»5 Detail of a die for wide-exit extrusion of thin-walled blocks

»6 The new thin-walled block

The Danesi Group is gaining in importance among the brick producers of North Italy. With four plants (eight industrial sites), the Group has been producing the full range of materials from masonry bricks to hourdi for more than 50 years.

The history of the Group began in 1955 when the siblings Luigi and Celeste Danesi fused their companies in Soncino, province of Cremona, to form the Fornaci Laterizi Danesi. The plant, located in the heart of the Lombard plain, has distribution areas in the provinces of Cremona, Bergamo and Milan. The acquisition in 1980 of the furnace Casella Braga (located in Capriano del Colle in the province of Brescia) strengthened the trade coverage in the area of Lombardia and began to extend the spread of the products on the markets of Veneto and Emilia. In 1999 the two companies, Fornace Laterizi Danesi and Casella Braga, joined forces and gave birth to the Danesi Group. The following alliance with RDB of Piacenza led to the acquisition of the plants at Casei Gerola (province of Pavia) and Lugagnano d’Arda (province of Piacenza), which were both RDB property. This resulted in trade expansion to the entire north and centre of Italy.

Although the Group, which joined the Poroton consortium in 2006, today produces above all products for masonry construction, great importance is still attached to the production of tiles. The production percentages of the five product families are:

› 31% traditional tiles

› 27% precision bricks and blocks of the Poroton brand

› 26% hourdi and 16% dividing walls

The plant at Capriano del Colle is specialized in the production of wall materials for load bearing and non load bearing walls. Here 58 different product types can be manufactured – from the solid brick to the load bearing block with high thermal insulation.

This large production range is made possible by a reliable and intensive collaboration with the supplier of the extrusion equipment. This strategic partner is Filiere Torres. Through the supply of the complete set of dies, this partnership has allowed the development of the comprehensive product range which is now catalogue indexed. Recently the range has been enlarged by another interesting model: the thin-walled masonry block.

“The periods of crisis”, said Fiorenzo Vichi, chief of the Capriano plant, “must also be understood as a chance to improve the quality of the products and to start innovation processes.”

The thin-walled block

This block with the dimensions 420 x 250 mm is manufactured with a die by Filiere Torres which features 175 cores with a web thickness of 3.8 mm This result has been achieved thanks to the detailed geometry of the core-holder and to the special adjustment of the die properties to the manufacturing technology of the company. These exceptional structural features enable the block to reach levels of thermal insulation certified by technical data obtained by sensitive simulation programmes. The production of thin-walled blocks has become a key feature of the production range of the plant. This will now involve a series of future intensive activities in terms of system modernization, such as the enlargement of the raw material preparation section and adaptation of the drying techniques. The present semi-continuous dryer with eight channels will be upgraded.

Quality and services

The Danesi Group not only stands out for the quality of the products and the continuous search for further improvement, but also for the service offered to its customers. This includes updating courses for the agents, training courses dedicated to the performances of associated products and practical demonstrations at work. A team of engineers is available for solutions to plant problems which go beyond the questions dealt with in a dedicated technical area on the web site.

These services will surely increase and in the near future it should be possible to lease mechanical equipment in order to facilitate the laying of the precision blocks in the plant.

The distribution and sales of all the Danesi products of the Group are managed by Latercom, a company constituted in 2000, in which Danesi Group holds a majority participation.