It is logical that a development project also involves new ‘human resources’. Among them is Nicola Pedrotti, New Business Developer and Marketing Manager, who joined the GDA team a few months ago. To get to know him better, we asked him what his role is and what goals he sets himself.
What motivated you to join the GDA team and what is your role?
My role, to use the English term, is New Business Developer and Marketing Manager, which means that on the one hand my task is to develop growth opportunities and create strategic partnerships for the company, and on the other hand to manage and promote GDA’s communication and image.
What prompted me? I have known Gianluca Adami, the company owner, for a long time, and when he presented me with GDA’s growth project and asked me to be part of it, I was immediately enthusiastic.
In my professional and personal life, I have never felt I had arrived and I have always sought new stimuli, to grow and develop the activities I was involved in.
Therefore, the ambitious project of GDA fascinated me: I felt it was an important and challenging opportunity, to which I could contribute thanks to the skills I have developed over the past 20 years in various business areas.
Lastly, I was also won over by the history and family character of a company that started from nothing, and which has grown steadily without ever distorting itself and losing those family values that characterise it.
If you had to sum up your CV in two-three thoughts what would you say?
Beyond my curriculum vitae, I would like to emphasise two points of view, one personal and one professional. In my personal development, the concept of care has always been central: of my family, raising my daughters, etc.
An attitude that I also brought to the professional sphere, trying to develop and grow both the products or services I followed and the relationships with the people I collaborated with: colleagues, customers, suppliers, etc.
I have always managed to combine in every activity a healthy and natural ambition with care and respect. I consider this attitude to be an important basis for tackling the tasks that await me at GDA in the coming years.
What do you think are GDA’s strengths?
Its solid reputation in the industry, its ability to innovate and adapt to changes in the market, its technical expertise and experience in managing complex projects. Central, in my opinion, is a very good quality product.
The company takes ‘maniacal’ care in manufacturing its products, using the best raw materials and technologically advanced machinery.
GDA, moreover, is extremely attentive to customer requests and is able to provide a complete service, from design to the making of the blades, from packaging to labelling: a service that only very few companies are able to ensure at medium-high volumes.
I don’t want to repeat myself, but another outstanding feature is that GDA has been able to preserve a craftsmanship both in the quality of the products and in the style of relations: more informal, warm, ‘human’.
A style and way of working that the company’s founder and his wife managed to pass on to their children, the current co-owners, who in turn are passing it on to the next generation.
Close your eyes and imagine a perfect 2024 for GDA: what do you see?
I don’t need to close my eyes because the vision is very clear: by 2024 there is a new home for GDA. A new home means new space, new machinery, a new organisation, a strengthened internal and external team.
This will mean a great deal of effort for GDA to maintain services and product quality. It will also be necessary to continue the consolidation and expansion of the sales network, as well as the development of the corporate image.
What are the long-term goals?
Within four to five years, the primary objective is to double or at least substantially increase production, triggering a process of constant and sustainable growth.
At the same time, it will be important to develop and consolidate GDA brand awareness in the sector: in other words, to develop those communication processes capable of giving the company’s image and initiatives the right visibility on the market.
On this last aspect we are only at the beginning, but we are gradually organising ourselves in this sense.
The biggest advantages of GDA’s evolution process?
Being able to continue to have a constant and solid growth process. Right now the company rightly feels it must grow, but it intends to do so by continuing a style, a way of seeing the product and the market that has allowed it to play a leading role over the years.
A process that in my opinion can only be one of growth: GDA will reach a medium-small size in a very broad market that includes wood, aluminium, metal, panel cutting solutions, etc.
A market full of business opportunities, to which the company can offer high quality and highly customised solutions.
How do you see the market and your sector in particular?
Looking at it through the company’s eyes, I would describe this market as quiet: having a network of customers in various parts of Europe and outside Europe gives us flexibility. The ability to handle different market scenarios therefore allows us to look to the future with cautious optimism.
As I have already pointed out, we are strengthening our sales network and working on increasing GDA’s brand awareness. Objective? To be able to seize the opportunities that the market will offer us, thanks also to our investments in technological innovation.
A message for your customers?
That we will continue to listen to them to support them in achieving their goals. On the contrary, we want to improve the quality level of our answers and proposals. The next few months will see many innovations: a new factory, new machinery and new people.
All this to ensure standards that exceed market expectations. In summary: working with GDA will bring many positive surprises.
