Name: Roberto Boccalini
Class: 1987
Origin: Gabicce Mare
Passionate about water sports. Loves lasagna and is slightly superstitious.
Roberto, tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you come to Omag?
As a child (I was no more than 3-4 years old), I looked forward to Saturday afternoons to spend some time with my dad and uncle. My family had a company that manufactured woodworking machinery, just across the street from the historic Omag headquarters in Gabicce Mare, where the machine workshop is today.
And so Saturday afternoons I would spend with them, I liked to observe and imitate what they were doing. I would wander around welding machines, grinders, drills…I was very curious about them. I would observe and study the movements of the various operators because the imperative was «just look, don’t touch!»
When I finally graduated as a mechanical expert, I officially joined the company, starting first in the carpentry department and then moving on to machine assembly and finally installing machines from end customers.
My father always tried to teach me as much as he could, so he often took me with him during meetings and sales negotiations. These occasions made me realize how important it is to establish a relationship of trust with the customer based on partnership. Which is then a lesson I have found again here in Omag years later; the sale is only the first step in the relationship you establish with the customer, which lasts for years.
At some point the family business closed, and joining Omag was quite natural for me. Having always seen the company across the street from mine, it didn’t feel like I was leaving one family to join another. I saw the evolution of the company over the years, followed its path, and so it immediately felt like a home-like environment, as if I hadn’t changed families but as if I was expanding my own.
I’ve always wondered what was in those big wooden crates coming out of the factory across the street, and I finally got te chance to find out.