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It’s about being an important team player in projects

Elena Zuccolo - Braida Srl, Italy

A young family business with high competence

ELENA ZUCCOLO - EXPORT MANAGER | Elena is a creative multitasker. She has extensive training in double bass in Prague and training as a translator. With such a broad background, she is of course a great asset in a small creative office. Although her title says she should only work with exports, the reality is quite different. It is much about being an important team player in all kinds of projects, often in product development projects.

Braida Srl mainly manufactures customized products. The company is a young family business that has gathered high production, design, and material competence. They have experience working on projects in more than 40 countries, which explains why Elena’s language skills are incredibly important. In the Concepts department, they focus on stylish, practical, and comfortable products designed specifically for restaurants, hotels, and public spaces. It is about providing technical and design solutions that consider both the properties and expressions of different materials.

Product development is very important for our company. We mainly manufacture customized products based on our customers’ drawings and specifications. Therefore, we are constantly developing new products and looking for the right solutions.

Elena on plastic materials

In Italy, interest in sustainability and the environment has increased. Additionally, Braida works with many countries, some of which have higher demands in these areas. Braida works a lot with the environment and sustainability. They have, among other things, an international FSC certificate, but there are also regional requirements.

For a Swedish customer, for example, we have certified products according to Möbelfakta, a Swedish quality, environmental, and social responsibility label.

Regarding traditional plastic materials, however, Elena sees this as a growing problem that must be solved with better alternatives.

Elena on Ackurat

We at Ackurat regularly visit Braida in Manzano (northeastern Italy). Several people in product development also have a login on Ackurat’s website, where they can see the company’s prices, Ackurat’s stock levels, Braida’s own special products, and order history in addition to all standard products.

What we appreciate most about Ackurat is their quick feedback and fast dispatch of samples. These are needed repeatedly for various tests. The speed once caused a problem when a customer changed their mind just a couple of hours after we sent our order to Ackurat. But Ackurat had been so fast that the samples were already on their way to Italy. It worked out in the end, but in this case, a few extra hours of consideration time would have been good. But generally, Ackurat’s speed is a big plus.