Photo left to right: Jacopo Cassinelli (Golden Filter), Nello Paloni (RAI Amsterdam), Mattia Grignani (Golden Filter)
The young team behind the Italian company Golden Filter is with only 25 years old the youngest exhibitor at Interclean Amsterdam. They can’t wait to meet the cleaning industry face to face this May. Since they took over the forty year old filter manufacturer in 2019, they’ve been paving the way and making name in the cleaning sector.
Golden Filter, based near Milan in Italy, was historically focused on producing filters for the automotive industry, with big names among its clientele. But when the company was taken over in 2019, the new management decided it was time to broaden its horizon. “The automotive industry is changing very rapidly”, says CEO Mattia Grignani. “Electric cars are winning terrain by the day, replacing traditional cars that run on gasoline and diesel. This has a huge impact on filter manufacturers like us, because electric cars require less filters than the traditional cars.”
Cleaning industry provides opportunity
At the same time that Grignani saw the potential challenge posed by the changes in the automotive industry, he also saw changes in another industry that could provide an opportunity. “The market for cleaning machines is growing fast and a lot of the manufacturers are based in Italy”, Grignani continues. “All of a sudden we received more and more requests for filters for cleaning machines, so we decided to switch our focus.” In addition, Golden Filter saw a rising demand for HEPA-filters, largely due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Operational manager Jacopo Cassinelli explains: “People now understand the importance of hygiene and feel the need to purify the air in offices and at home. Our HEPA-filters are very hygienic filters that clean 99,995% of the particles from the environment. We’re constantly searching for more efficient filters. Currently we’re investigating the possibilities for UV-filters, for instance.”
Cassinelli moves on to explain how Golden Filter is always exploring ways to become more sustainable. “The environment always has been and still is very important to us. Obviously, we constantly try to reduce our usage of energy resources. We’re also exploring ways to recycle used filters, but there are still a lot of challenges we have to face. Filters are made of at least three different raw materials, including plastic, metal and polyester. So we have to find a good way to separate the different materials, in such a fashion that it’s not a burden on our clients. We’ll be looking into this the coming years.”
Flexible and modern
Grignani and his team have been determined from the start to build a new, young and strong image for Golden Filter. “Our company was established in 1974 and has a rich history. It means we have a lot of experience in making filters and we know the market inside and out. However, we find it very important to show that we’re also very flexible and modern at the same time. Last year we moved from the historical production site to a new, bigger state-of-the-art factory”, he announces proudly. Grignani says they can meet any demand. “In November we received a call from a very large international company, asking us whether we could produce 250.000 filters for them. They needed the first delivery of 40.000 filters within two weeks. ‘Of course we can’, I told them. But for your information: in the entire year of 2019 we produced 69.000 filters. It was a big challenge for us and I am very proud that we were able to do it. It’s a concrete example of how flexible we are.”
Top of the (cleaning) world
Where does Grignani see himself and his company in ten years? “On top of the world”, he says jokingly. “No, I’m just kidding. But I do hope that by then we’ll be the most important filter supplier for manufacturers of cleaning machines.” Exhibiting at Interclean Amsterdam is one of the ways he hopes to makes this dream come true. “We have never been there before, but I’ve heard very enthusiastic stories about the Interclean. It’s supposed to be incredible and it attracts people from every part of the world. I can’t wait to meet all the cleaning professionals face to face, to show them who we are and what we can do. We’re ready!”
