Covema srl was a historic Italian company specializing in the design of plastic processing machinery, based in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, via Fontana 1. Founded in 1953 by the Terragni brothers, it also included the companies Corima spa, GBF spa, GBF iberica, RIAP srl, FIRS spa, Covepla Spain (specialized in thermosetting machines), Italproducts srl, Omam spa, TPA srl, AGRIPAK srl, Floraplant srl, Interfinance SA, Technical Die spa, Covema SAE. The technology that Covema has developed since the 1950s is merged into Agripak srl based in Milano and managed by the sons of
Marco Terragni: Fabio Terragni (president), Patrizia Terragni and Massimo Terragni (managing directors).
History
Founded in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
in 1953, Covema (Commissionaria Vendita Macchine) first devoted itself to the commercialization of plastic processing machinery. This marketing activity was a great help to the growth and development of the Luigi Bandera spa in
Busto Arsizio
Busto Arsizio (; lmo, label= Bustocco, Büsti Grandi) is an Italian city and ''comune'' in the south-easternmost part of the Province of Varese, in the region of Lombardy, in Northern Italy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is main ...
, which at the time was making the first blown film extrusion lines to produce plastic bags and films. One of the most successful markets of this initial activity of Covema was the US market where, thanks to Covema's intermediation, the Luigi Bandera spa exported dozens of blown film extrusion lines during the 1950s.
Marco Terragni was the main proponent of such sales success towards the North American market.
In the late 1950s, the Covema began the production and sale of its blown film extrusion lines. In the meantime, exports to the Latin American markets began and Marco Terragni was asked during his missions abroad to produce in plastic various objects made so far of wood or paper or glass. Thus began a phase of research and development that led Covema to create two poles for specific research such as the FIRS for the production of machines for window and door profiles and the RIAP (Research Industrial Applications Polyolefin) of Zingonia (
Bergamo
Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
) for the development of
polypropylene
Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene.
Polypropylene
belongs to the group of polyolefins and ...
(PP) applications recently polymerized by Professor
Giulio Natta
Giulio Natta (26 February 1903 – 2 May 1979) was an Italian chemical engineer and Nobel laureate. He won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 with Karl Ziegler for work on high polymers. He also received a Lomonosov Gold Medal in 1969.
Biography ...
at the Milan Polytechnic. Thus were born the first plants for the production of synthetic raffia and monofilaments: the first fair in which Covema showed in operation a raffia plant in PP was Equiplast of Barcelona in 1969.
Montecatini intensively collaborated with RIAP for the development of various grades of polymers and copolymers of PP. In RIAP some downstream plants were also developed to produce
raffia
Raffia palms (''Raphia'') are a genus of about twenty species of palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and especially Madagascar, with one species (''R. taedigera'') also occurring in Central and South America. ''R. taedigera'' is the sour ...
or monofilament articles (fabrics, ropes, woven bags, etc.).
Still at the RIAP at the beginning of the 1970s a group of researchers coordinated by
Marco Terragni created a first pilot plant for the production of
Cartonplast
Cartonplast is a trademark that was first given by Covema, Covema spa (Italy) in the early seventies to a specific model of extrusion line manufactured and sold world wide by the aforesaid.
In subsequent years such name was used as well to ident ...
(PP alveolar sheets). Many other developments in technology were made in those years by Covema, including the extrusion in flat head of PP sheets and the thermoforming of these sheets to produce
disposable cup
A disposable cup is a type of tableware and disposable food packaging. Disposable cup types include paper cups, plastic cups and foam cups. Expanded polystyrene is used to manufacture foam cups, and polypropylene is used to manufacture plasti ...
s. Various other technologies for the production of pipes, machines for covering electric cables, extrusion lines for WoodPlast (synthetic wood), multi-filaments spinning plants of the POY type (Partially Oriented Yarns) or FDY type (Fully Drawn) or BCF type (Bulky Continuous Filaments) for
nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic.
Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...
,
PA,
PP,
PET were also developed by Covema for the production of upholstery, fabrics for the automotive industry, carpets and rugs, industrial filters, technical garments.
At the company Corima at Cassano Magnago, Covema realized the specific development of multi-filament plants and systems to cover electric cables.
![Cartonplast tradename of Covema](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Cartonplast_tradename_of_Covema.jpg)
The Plastiform of
Paderno Dugnano was instead created by Covema for the development of technologies for thermoforming both from sheet and board. The FC series machines were developed to form and cut in the same station using match metal system; the Rotoform series, which formed and cut with a separate cutting press and the Multiform series that formed, die cut, and stacked in line. Plastiform also produced thermoforming machines for board to produce, for example, counterdoor and inside of refrigerator cells, bathtubs. Also at Plastiform, the first in line extrusion and thermoforming were developed and a compact
extrusion
Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex c ...
/
calendering system (named subsequently Compact) was designed to be put in line with thermoformers especially for the FC and Rotoform series.
The Rotoform machines were the first ever used by the Swiss group Ovotherm for the production of
polystyrene
Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is a ...
(PS) egg containers. During the 1970s, Ovotherm opened several factories all over the world for the production of eggs in PS and Covema was the partner who supplied the necessary machines for thermoforming.
Other companies belonging to the Covema group were Ombia spa of Solbiate Arno, which specialized in the start of the production of pipe systems and the GBF of Milan, which dedicated itself to the production of injection molding machines. GBF Spa worked intensely with
Basell Polyolefins
Basell Polyolefins was a joint venture between BASF and Royal Dutch Shell. Leonard Blavatnik's Access Industries acquired it from the venturers for $5.7 billion in August 2005. In 2007, Basell merged with the privately owned US company Lyondell ...
of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and developed with it some important patents.
Also worthy of note is the collaboration of Covema with the company Magic S.p.A. of Monza specialized in the production of extrusion / blow molding lines for plastic bottles.
Covema patents
Covema Srl
*A process for the production of laminated panels, particularly for coating and the like, as well as' plant for its realization.
*The panel structure particularly coupled for coatings and the like.
*Plant for the realization of particularly hollow profiles made of plastic material.
*Sound-absorbing and heat-insulating panel structure.
*An extruder for the extrusion of hollow tubular elements in plastic and container material obtained with said tubular elements.
*Calibrator for extruded profiles are made of plastic material.
*Calibrator for extruded profiles are made of plastic material.
*An extruder for the extrusion of plastic hollow sides profile.
*Extrusuradora for the production of shaped hollow plastic material.
*Extruder for producing plastic hollow profile material.
*Operating machine for boring and facing and machining head of a machine tool.
*Extruders for plastics.
Covema SAE
*Improvements in closing mechanisms for rotating blowing heads.
*Regulator blowing.
*Sizer.
*Tube winding machine to apply plastic industrial sacks.
Plastiform Srl
*Solid-state heat-moulding polypropylene sheets - involves passing sheet intermittently across a continuous heating zone, to raise the temp. or the sheet to near its m.pt.
*Thermoforming high crystalline content polymers.
*Formningsforfarande for hogkristallina polymerer, speciellt polypropenfolier.
*Thermoforming sheet material.
*Procedure for thermoforming polypropylene sheet, solid state processing.
OMAM Spa
*Apparatus profiling tubes.
Corima Spa
*Mario Miani, extrusion head for the production of synthetic yarns.
*Giuseppe De Maria and Mario Miani, thermoplastic extrusion press - with two chambers and multiple extruder screws.
*Boscato Silvano, device for winding and unwinding of materials constant tension on reels.
*Carlo Rattazzi and Giuseppe De Maria, continuous filter for plastic.
Floraplant Srl
*Separator device of portaudva arranged impilanti containers.
GBF costruzioni meccaniche Spa
*Device for the production of plastic and elastomer bearings.
Agripak srl
*Massimo Terragni and Daniele Perrella, process and apparatus for machining a sheet of thermoplastic material with hollow profile.
*Thermoforming machine with stacking device of thermoformed articles.
*Product precious materials obtained from fibers of textile origin and their galvanic process.
Italproducts srl
*Structure of extruded honeycombed profiled plastic.
*The preheating oven particularly for panels to be formed.
*A process for the microperforation of extruded multiwall sheets.
*Structure of extruded honeycombed profiled plastic.
TPA srl
*Tray, container and the like with drainage characteristics.
*A method for obtaining formed articles from alveolar sheet-like elements made of plastics, as well as 'articles so'.
Honors
*"MERCURIO D'ORO" prize.
*FOREIGN TRADE PRIZE, issued by the
Milan Chamber of Commerce in 1978. It ranks as the first company in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
with exports in 1972 of around 80
million
One million (1,000,000), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the au ...
s
euros
The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . T ...
.
See also
*
Montecatini
*
Corrugated plastic
*
Cartonplast
Cartonplast is a trademark that was first given by Covema, Covema spa (Italy) in the early seventies to a specific model of extrusion line manufactured and sold world wide by the aforesaid.
In subsequent years such name was used as well to ident ...
®
*
Dino Terragni
Dino Terragni (10 September 1927 – Geneva, 21 June 1979) was an Italian entrepreneur and inventor, founder and president of Covema, Corima Spa, Plastiform Srl, GBF Italia Spa, GBF Iberica SA, Omam spa, Covepla SA, Covema SAE, Firs Spa, RIAP S ...
References
{{Reflist
Plastics companies of Italy
Injection molding
Conglomerate companies established in 1953
Manufacturing companies based in Milan
Italian companies established in 1953