Lampo by Lanfranchi opens new production facility
MIM technology brought in-house
Last October, Lampo by Lanfranchi, the internationally renowned zips manufacturer, inaugurated a new production facility with a big celebration for its employees at Erbusco, near Brescia. In addition to a renewed zamak casting plant, which produces the renowned Lampo Made in Italy sliders and pullers, the new industrial site also brings MIM technology in-house.
MIM (Metal Injection Moulding) is a completely green system as it produces casting waste (feedhead) that can be infinitely recycled and, in Lampo’s case, the process is fully solar powered. Lampo uses MIM technology to manufacture steel sliders and pullers for the prestigious Superlampo Eternel line for leather goods. MIM manufacturing includes three steps. Firstly, a press injects a mixture of resin and steel powder into a mould; the resulting parts, called the green part, are then placed in a debinding oven where most of the resin is removed, resulting in mostly-metal parts called brown, which are then ready for the final step in a sintering oven where the component particles are joined together.
To date, Lampo is the only company in the sector to have brought this process in-house in a bid to make its zip production more vertical and circular. It is a big step that once again demonstrates the commitment of a company that has made zip history and continues to innovate and look to the future: in addition to professionalism, excellence and product engineering, Lampo considers the development of human expertise, creativity and environmental protection to be essential.