Stefano Palmieri, CFO of Comer diligence, discusses navigating growth, accessions, and managing a transnational company with strong family power.
Global Finance What has been your biggest challenge since joining Comer diligence?
Stefano Palmieri After I joined in 2021, Comer endured significant growth, marked by the accession that time of the German group Walterscheid( a supplier of powertrain systems for agrarian, construction, and other off- trace vehicles and ministry), which had earnings of around€ 400 million, roughly equal to Comer’s size at the time.
For a company with no previous experience in large- scale accessions, integrating such a complex business was a major challenge for the administrative platoon under the CEO’s leadership. Substantial value was created through footmark optimization, factory connection, a more balanced global product base, new client contracts, and operating cost solidarity. Supported by favorable request conditions, we closed 2023 with earnings of€ 1.2 billion and EBITDA exceeding€ 200 million.
From a fiscal viewpoint, the main challenges were integrating finance brigades and societies, generating rapid-fire cash inflow to repay the accession and enforcing the processes demanded to transfigure Comer into a truly global transnational.
GF Why is it important to have a wide geographic footmark?
Palmieri Our footmark spans multiple topographies Europe, with headquarters and core operations in Italy and a product mecca in Germany; the US, where we consolidated three manufacturing spots into one near Chicago; India, with a sizeable installation in Bangalore; China, with a large factory in Shanghai; and a lower presence in Brazil and, since January, in Japan and Thailand.
This global footmark reflects client demand for manufacturing close to their assembly lines as we produce large, heavy factors for leading agrarian and construction outfit manufacturers similar as CNH, John Deere, AGCO, Caterpillar, and Komatsu. A flexible worldwide product network enables us to respond snappily to client requirements and manage volatility — now the new normal — by shifting product to optimize total costs amid logistics dislocations, tariffs, and other request challenges.
GF What are the crucial challenges of managing a transnational group?
Palmieri Human connections remain central to our culture; we're a people- driven company that believes value and culture are stylish transmitted through direct commerce. We laboriously promote transnational exchange, transferring people and frequently youth abroad and bringing associates to Italy to blend societies and share stylish practices.
This approach is reflected in our most recent move. Beforehand this time, we acquired a maturity stake in Nabtesco’s hydraulic outfit business, with€ 270 million in earnings, adding about 800 associates, half in Japan and the rest in China and Thailand. The deal was made possible by a long- standing cooperation dating back to 2017 and a strong artistic fit, particularly around discipline and participated product doctrines similar as the Toyota Production System and World Class Manufacturing.
Cultural and language walls remain, but the alignment on processes and values has made integration doable and promising.
GF Adventurer is a intimately listed company, with the Storchi family retaining 51. How does this blend of public and family power shape the way the group is managed?
Palmieri One of the company’s topmost strengths is the commitment of its leadership specifically, our president and CEO, Matteo Storchi, who leads the company on behalf of the founding family. This creates a unique combination an entrepreneurial CEO with the authority and long- term perspective of an proprietor. Unlike numerous intimately listed companies, where CEOs are frequently driven by short- term results, this structure enables bold opinions and a medium- to long- term vision.
This approach proved critical after our 2023 record time, when earnings declined by further than€ 300 million over two times. While we took decisive cost- slice and effectiveness measures to cover perimeters, we continued to invest acquiring a US factory, advancing conversations in Japan, and laying the root for unborn growth
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