News to know: Unoaerre New Pole

What kind of changes have led to the rise in the cost of raw materials?

Direct effects relate to immediate changes, such as extreme caution with regard to orders from international customers, while indirect effects concern the possibility that price instability could trigger a real slowdown in post-Covid growth. The “ups and downs” of commodity prices interconnect with other factors, such as the consequences of the pandemic, the crisis in supply logistics, fears of conflict and the so-called “energy crunch”, in other words, the sudden rise in energy costs. The economic recovery in 2021 was faster than expected: this also contributed to a kind of supply “shock” because the increase in demand did not always correspond to an adequate supply of these goods.

Can the crisis triggered by pandemic and geopolitical issues encourage business improvement? If so, how?
By necessity, we had to prioritize the immediate by focusing on the needs of our people, customers and suppliers as well as on the effective management of supply chain discontinuities. At the same time, we tried to stabilize revenues and reshape our business to bring it into line with changing demand and we identified new avenues for growth, with significant investments in both digital and new skills. The recent agreement for the acquisition of 68% of Ercolani Galvanotecnica is part of this perspective, creating a unique manufacturing hub. The crisis period also saw the introduction of the new Batticuore collection, which aims to re-propose gold jewelry to a young target that is sensitive to production process ethicality.

Chimet means sustainability: what are the main innovations?

Gold is among the so-called “conflict metals” and the Platinum group metals (Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium and Ruthenium) are among the raw materials that the EC has labelled as “critical”, in other words, with a high supply risk. These materials are essential for the functioning and integrity of a wide range of industrial ecosystems. The waste recovery sector is destined to grow in the near future and will represent an opportunity for manufacturing countries such as Italy. This is why the work of Chimet, which has been recovering these types of metals from so-called 'waste' for 50 years, is crucial, not only because their reuse is necessary in Italy, which is poor in raw materials, but above all because we well understand the need for a short and certified supply chain.