GA.VO. Meccanica: Inventing a New Industrial Category

From Origins to the Revolution of the Patented System

GA.VO. Meccanica was established in 1989 as a mechanical engineering company specializing in suction systems, metal structures, technical assistance, repairs, and prototype machinery design. Today, decades later, the company’s identity is precise: it stands as a global specialist exclusively focused on the construction of core cutters.

The real turning point came in 1999 with the production of the first Core Cutter with a Joining System. The project was born with the goal of solving a specific industrial problem, providing the spark to conceive a solution that did not yet exist on the market. The patented joining system was the defining value-added feature, offering an innovative technical solution that allowed the company to establish and consolidate a unique niche in the global market.

Marco Tancredi, your core cutter certainly represents a hyper-specialized niche, but it fits into a market—the reel core industry—of colossal proportions. Considering that in sectors like flexible packaging, “Made in Italy” is the undisputed global leader across the entire supply chain—from machinery manufacturers to material producers and converters—how does GA.VO. Meccanica act as a spokesperson for this excellence, and how strategic is your role within this vast global ecosystem?

“Yes the the cores for reels which are made usually of cardboard and plastic are used for every film material, from plastic to paper to textile to metal etc., so the use of this kind of tube is huge and the range of applications is really wide. The core manufacturer companies offer a diversified range of products to meet various needs and those companies are really specialized but the cores were too much considered a necessary evil, the final product is the rewound material not the core that stays inside. The core users were using those improperly. They used to cut short pieces out of a long mother piece and of course there was always an offcut, it is logical it depends on the multiples. To avoid scraps they could buy precut cores, so they could save in terms of waste but they were paying a lot more to get the cores already cut. Some of them tried to tape the remaining pieces together by hand but the result was bad. We finally arrived to propose an automatic solution to cut and splice. We make Core Saving and Cutting Machine. No more waste with us, you can cut your cores and save them by using an adhesive tape. The amount of material and money saved by our customers was immediately measurable. In one shot they eliminated waste and the precut cores, increased the space in the factory and reduced the quantity of cores to buy. We were at the beginning the enemies of the core producers because we were seen as the core production killers but it was not true. By optimizing their working method, the customers could save money and really started to give to the cores the right value, finally they had a machine to perform well with every type of core so the suppliers started to look to us as a reliable partner to bring right solutions. I have not say that one of greatest advantages of our machines is to cut every core material and every size and this makes them very flexible. We started to be the point of reference not only for the core users but also for the core makers.“

Global Expansion and Sales Records

Creating an unparalleled product soon pushed the company beyond its national borders. The breakthrough in the international market arrived in 2006 at the Plast fair in Milan. This event served as a crucial showcase to begin collaborating with new agents, meet new clients, and look toward a global perspective. From that point on, the company’s international journey began, expanding through Europe, Africa, the Americas, Oceania, and Asia.

In the following years, GA.VO. Meccanica built a widespread commercial network, leading to sales in 60 countries and an exponential increase in production. This growth led to the construction of a new production facility in 2014. Exactly 10 years later, in 2024, the company recorded its best-ever annual turnover, reached 1,000 orders, and launched a project for a second warehouse. By early 2026, the company has sold 1,100 machines, employs 25 people, and reaches 66 countries. Despite these multinational numbers, passion remains the true engine of their success.

Managing technical support for 1,100 machines operating in 66 countries worldwide must be a massive logistical and technological challenge. How has your department organized itself to ensure timely and impeccable assistance to such a vast international clientele?

“The answer to this question may appear too simple and bold, we make machines that never break down. To be precise, we base our work on a principle which is to produce high quality machineries. We focus to design things that last, so we have to use high quality components, build solid structures, write intuitive softwares and mainly think to the people who are going to use them. There is a big effort behind this and every detail is important but it can’t be different. Our success is established also on the quality of our products so we do it this way. This means that the technical assistance to our customers is a low percentage of our total work and we don’t need to involve many persons. On the customer side, the machines are very user and maintenance friendly so most of the companies are able to take care of their machines by themselves. Anyway, this does not imply that GAVO machines never require maintenance and in the last years, according to the number of machines around, we increased the preventive service visits. We go to customers regularly to keep their machines in a good working status to perform as they should and reduce to the minimum the risk of a sudden shutdown. We are working also to have trained technicians in several countries who are able to support the customers locally and let them feel confident that we are always by their side.“

Inventing a Category: Beyond Simple Cutting

The greatest achievement of GA.VO. Meccanica is measured not just in numbers, but in the paradigm shift it brought to the market. The company’s international success stems from the fact that it didn’t just offer a product in an existing category; it presented a brand-new one. GA.VO. consolidated everything a company using cores for reels needs into a single machine.

Clients are not just choosing an alternative product; they are realizing that to meet their needs—some of which they hadn’t even identified—they must look to a different category entirely. Today, the vision is clear: the goal for clients is no longer just finding a machine to cut cores, but finding a system designed to manage the entire core department.

“Inventing a category” involves educating the customer on a new industrial perspective. When your technical team works with new users, how long does it take for them to realize they haven’t just bought a core cutter, but a complete system to revolutionize their entire operation?

“This was the biggest obstacle at the beginning, the people thought the core cutter machines as simple tools and the cutting of cores was considered a marginal operation. The cores were something that stay inside the rolls of material so they were just a support and intended as a secondary component. The result was very untidy core departments, daily huge quantity of core waste and at the end a significant waste of money. The way to let the people change their mind was to guide them to see the issue they could solve and the savings they could get. This is what we have done from the beginning, not to show a core cutter machine but propose a problem solving solution. Our system was not present on the market and that’s why we made a new category. We have designed the machine for the core user, to manage the core department by a different approach, sometimes to create a core department from zero. In many cases, the customers  have never even thought that their common utilization of cores was not the best, after they became our customers they couldn’t look back, they can’t think of another way. We have set standard for a different core cutter solution, some companies copied our products or tried to, or made something which follows our idea. This is something I don’t like but it makes me also proud. If they copy you it means you are leading.“

As GA.VO. Meccanica looks toward the future, with a second production facility on the horizon and a presence that continues to grow across all continents, one thing remains certain: their success is not just about the number of machines sold or countries reached. It is about a relentless pursuit of excellence and the ability to redefine an entire industry through Italian ingenuity. By transforming “core cutting” into “core management,” GA.VO. has set a new global standard, proving that when passion meets innovation, there are no limits to what “Made in Italy” can achieve.