FACMA S.R.L.

FACMA S.r.l. deals with the design, construction and sale of agricultural machinery for working the land, for the mechanized harvesting of nuts from the ground, for drying, cleaning, sorting and storing woody nut products. The administrative and operational headquarters are located in Vitorchiano (VT) Italy, the company owns a covered factory of 5000 square meters and a surrounding area of about 1 hectare. The origins of FACMA date back to 1971. The company developed in the Viterbo area, which has always been characterized by the cultivation of hazelnuts and chestnuts. The idea of building the first harvesting machine, pulled by a tractor, was born in 1971, thanks to the intuition of Marcello Bellachioma, then a mechanical worker, who for the first time together with his brother Renzo managed to revolutionize hazelnut harvesting, introducing the mechanization. In the 70s many in the provinceShow other tried to automate this operation, which was carried out entirely manually, therefore it was operated in a context of challenge which resulted in the success of the machine mentioned above. The two founders began manufacturing at the Vitorchiano site, as an individual company, Officina Meccanica Bellachioma Marcello & C., initially supported by another local company with more experience in agricultural mechanics (the Aquilanti company). This machine (called Cimina) worked thanks to the principle of suction of the product from the ground; once inside, it was separated from impurities and conveyed in sacks. The original system inspired later models of harvesters. In the 80s the reference market, from the original province of Viterbo, extended to the major Italian agricultural areas for the cultivation of hazelnuts, thanks to the establishment of a network of resellers, still able collaborators. In 1985 the F.A.C.M.A. was created. SNC, an artisan company whose name is the acronym of Fabbrica Artigiana Construction of Agricultural Machinery. In the years that followed, the innovative drive of the entrepreneurs led to the creation of additional types of agricultural machinery, increasingly enriching the range of products. First of all, the flail mowers were designed, machines for working the land (shredding grass, stones and pruning), also among the first examples of this kind in Italy, designed to prepare and level the land for mechanized harvesting. Later came the introduction of post-harvest systems, initially aimed at sorting, drying and storing hazelnuts, then also adapted for other woody nuts (walnuts, almonds, chestnuts, macadamia, etc.). At the same time also the harvesting machine, originally designed for hazelnuts, thanks to the simplicity of operation, was also adapted for the collection of other nuts. 1993 was an important year as the first self-propelled harvester was designed and built, capable of moving independently without the aid of a tractor and allowing a single operator to carry out the entire harvest, while with the towed model it was necessary the work of 4 or 5 operators. In 1995 the self-propelled harvester was exhibited in the novelty sector of the International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition (EIMA), an event promoted by the National Union of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers (Unacoma) and organized in collaboration with BolognaFiere Spa. Until then, relations with foreign countries had taken the form of direct exports to the final customer, in 1995 the process of setting up a foreign resale network began, starting from Spain with the sale of almond harvesting machines, later also of flail mowers and olive harvesting machines. In 2000 collaborations were started with an agent and resellers in France for the sale of machines for harvesting mainly walnuts and chestnuts. In 2002, the confectionery multinational Ferrero contacted FACMA to purchase agricultural machinery for its own hazelnut company, located in Chile. In 2004, direct exports of flail mowers began in the Republic of South Africa. In 2005, from an artisan factory, the company became an industry, transforming itself into FACMA S.r.L. In 2008, given the growth potential of the Chilean market, the Comercial branch Facma Chile LTDA was established, for the sale and assistance of FACMA machines in Chile. In 2009, a pruning shredder, called Comby, was invented and patented, with excellent performance in the collection and shredding of prunings. In 2011, the company also introduced machines with a totally mechanical harvesting principle to its product range: the MEK1800, for small surfaces, applied to the tractor lift; the SEMEK1000, for large surfaces, self-propelled, with maximum harvesting yields. For arriving then in 2013 to patent a mechanical pick-up machine applicable to suction self-propelled machines. The company sells directly in the province of Viterbo and makes use of the work of authorized resellers in the rest of Italy and other countries of the world, who deal with the search for potential buyers, communication and local promotion (fairs and advertising), of the negotiation and closing of the order and of the preventive and field assistance to the machinery. The company currently generates around 50% of its turnover abroad, thanks to a network of resellers in different countries (Chile with its own branch, South Africa, France, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Georgia, Moldavia, Argentina, Colombia, USA, etc.) MISSION FACMA's mission is to pursue an idea of modern and specialized agriculture, proposing mechanization close to the needs of farmers. The agricultural machines designed, before being placed on the market, are tested in the farms owned by the owners (hazelnut groves in the province of Viterbo and Rome, Chile and Romania) until the desired yields are obtained. Respect for the environment is certainly among the values at the basis of the corporate culture: the machines introduced never upset the natural balance, on the contrary they perfectly meet the needs of organic farms.