Draft:Elesa USA Corporation

United States branch of Elesa S.p.A., a machine parts manufacturer located in Monza, Italy, founded by Italian engineer Carlo Bertani. The company uses cutting-edge automated production technology to produce millions of components annually. From beginnings rooted in handle, knob, hand grip, and standardized handwheel production, Elesa has since moved to diversify its offerings. The company now caters to various sectors, such as medical and mobile equipment, machine tools, and packaging machinery.

History

Elesa was initially housed in service spaces belonging to Villa Torneamento (il Castello), Monza, Italy, and Via della Taccona on the city's northwestern outskirts in 1941. From 1953 until 1976, it moved to the former Anzani plant, a factory well-known for producing aircraft engines for WWI planes, located in Via Luciano Manara, in Monza, Italy.

In 1976, company headquarters permanently moved to the new industrial area of the city, in Sant'Albino. The Elesa home offices now span over 70,000 square meters, 26,000 of which are indoors. They are home to production lines, an office building, and a head office designed by Italian architect Antonio Bellini. The building’s interior exemplifies the same high-quality workmanship for which Elesa has become internationally known.

Today the company is a global leader in manufacturing, renowned for its plastic and metal standard machine parts. Elesa currently has 14 subsidiaries and distribution networks spanning over 60 countries. Global distribution channels cater to various industries, including agriculture, machine tools, packaging machinery, food processing equipment, mobile equipment, woodworking, lighting, scientific instruments, and medical equipment.

Elesa has always been an entrepreneurial endeavor and remains such, under the stewardship of the third Bertani generation.

Ergostyle and ELECOLORS

Elesa is committed to innovation and focused on blending design with technical capability. In the 1980s, The Elesa Group coined the mantra of "ergonomics + design = quality," referring to their ongoing efforts to craft functional and visually captivating machine tools. During this era, Elesa introduced plastic position indicators and rotary controls, leading to a new wave of design flexibility that resulted in the creation of the now iconic Ergostyle line.

Designed to focus on user comfort, safety, and aesthetics, Ergostyle blurs previously set boundaries, finding applications in hospital equipment, sports gear, scientific instruments, and beyond. The company then introduced their signature ELECOLORS— vibrant hues including orange, gray, yellow, blue, red, black, and green—to enhance their products’ visual allure while also helping to better differentiate between machinery functions.

Accolades and Acknowledgments

Elesa has long focused on design excellence, garnering over 50 industrial design awards in the past four decades, including:

• Compasso d'Oro Award – 1994, 2023
• Good Industrial Design Award (Industrie Forum Design Hannover (IFDH)) – 1995, 2024
• IF Design Award – 2019
• LEAP Award - 2022
• German Design Award – 2023

Elesa has also been honored to join the ADI Design Museum and receive recognition for their EWW.240 and ECW.375 products, thanks to the custodianship of the Association for Industrial Design (ADI).

Partnership with Otto Ganter

Elesa has always manufactured all of its products in Monza, Italy, including a quality stamp as visual proof of each component being "Made in Italy."

In 1971, Elesa saw the opportunity to collaborate with German company Otto Ganter, a family-run firm founded in 1894 in the heart of Baden-Württemberg. Otto Ganter shared a similar history and trajectory with Elesa, specializing instead in producing standardized metal components. These two leaders in designing and manufacturing standardized industrial components and accessories decided to embark on an innovative experiment to form a commercial joint venture. In the early 1990s, the two founded the Elesa+Ganter brand, now widespread and recognized in more than 35 countries (represented by branches and a network of expert distributors), including Elesa's branch offices in the UK, France, and the United States.

Elesa Abroad

Since the 1970s, Elesa had a sizable footprint in the North American market, fostered by collaborations with local distributors. The establishment of Elesa USA Corporation in 1996 marked a key milestone, cementing their presence in North America and improving service efficiency. With their comprehensive inventory of standard machine parts available in both metric and inch sizes, Elesa USA has become a vital parts supplier in the region.

Backed by a team of specialized technical experts, Elesa USA collaborates closely with clients to devise tailored, innovative solutions. The Elesa USA team works with the company's research and development division in Italy to ensure that components and customer service are standardized across the board. Elesa has also expanded to meet growing demands in the Canadian and UK markets, with respective headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario and Lincolnshire.

Entrepreneurial Spirit and Ongoing Innovation

Elesa has long been a part of the phenomenon of plastics dominating the objects used on a daily basis by businesses across the globe. They went on to propose and help to implement standardization in this sector. At the same time, materials are always evolving, and Elesa continues to take full advantage of plastic's potential in the mechanical industry.

Today, with a portfolio including 300 patents and registered designs, Elesa continues to focus on innovation. The company earmarks 10% of annual resources towards developing new products that are aimed at solving common issues or refining standard processes. Elesa strives to create products that are at the vanguard of technological advancement. Part of this goal includes the ongoing development of their state-of-the-art internal testing laboratory which allows Elesa to continue working on research and innovation.

Moving forward into the future, Elesa holds to their core tenets of ergonomics, design, and quality to inform their business and service. They aim to help redefine industry standards and push the boundaries of innovation in the global marketplace.