Word: necchi
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Between Wars. The first Necchi sewing machine was made in 1919 by Vittorio Necchi, son of a Pavia foundry owner, who decided that a native product could cash in on the Italian sewing-machine market, then divided among Singer and some 30 German companies...
...small factory outside Pavia, his 120 craftsmen carefully hand-machined each part, painstakingly fitted the parts together. Even by these old-fashioned methods, Necchi was turning out 60,000 machines a year in prewar days. World War II cut production to 60 machines a day and cost the company 400 million lire ($4,000,000) in war damages. But at war's end, Necchi executives dug out a stock of sewing machines they had hidden from the Germans, and with them, went after the export market...
...Blood. In 1948 Necchi had a double stroke of good fortune with two new men. One was Leon Jolson, a Polish-born marketing expert who emigrated to the U.S., saw the possibilities of Necchi's zigzag sewing model, and brought in the first four Necchi machines (TIME, April 21, 1952). Last year his 2,268 franchised dealers in the U.S. sold some 80,000 machines, worth $32 million...
...other man was Gino Martinoli, 53, a student of American production methods who had been technical manager at the famed Olivetti Co. (TIME, Feb. 8). He became Necchi's general manager, taking over production from Vittorio Necchi, now 56, who wanted to spend more time at his villa and pheasant farm. At Necchi, Martinoli's fresh, efficient eye looked over the antique assembly methods, spotted gaps and waste from casting to cabinets. Less than ten major Italian firms use assembly lines, but Martinoli refused to believe that U.S. methods could not be applied in Italy...
...Necchi he introduced the assembly line, semi-automatic milling machines and interchangeable parts, paid the cost of retooling (about $8,000,000) out of profits. He supervised the construction of the big new factory at Pavia, and tooled up its six parallel assembly lines. He cut the time a sewing machine stays on the assembly line from 14 to 10 days, tightened up techniques so that a Necchi is built with only 15 man-hours. As a consultant, he hired N. Richard Miller, 32, a Harvard Business School graduate and production expert, to revamp production. Miller expects to increase efficiency...