Welt Electronic is a leading Italian distributor of electronic components for industrial and lighting applications. The flourishing, owner-managed enterprise primarily supplies the automotive industry, producers of white goods and the heating, ventilation and airconditioning sector.
“These three segments account for over 50% of our total revenues,” explains Sales Director Michele Giusti. Since it was founded in 1985, Welt Electronic has grown almost without interruption. “Only in 2008/2009 during the economic crisis, there was a small setback,” says Mr. Giusti.
Today, the company has 40 employees, including 25 sales representatives, and turns over approximately 30 million EUR. Three years ago, the company entered the fast evolving lighting market and started cooperating with the Japanese Nichia Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of LED products.
Welt Electronic exports 5 to 6% of its products, mainly to customers in Eastern Europe including Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia. “At present, we do not have any plans to expand our international activities,” states Mr. Giusti.
Based in Florence, the company has a branch office in Milan and two smaller sales offices in Padua and Turin. “Our main focus is on Northern Italy,” says Mr. Giusti. Welt Electronic stands apart from the large, internationally operating suppliers due to is its high competence in problem-solving and the added value it offers to its customers.
“We do not just supply electronic components but understand ourselves as our customers’ partner who provides qualified advice in regard to the optimum solution,” Mr. Giusti describes the philosophy of the company. Its approach even covers made-to-measure, individually configured products and assemblies which are devised together with its own suppliers.
“Our customers can purchase customized products through us,” says Mr. Giusti. “We work together with both our customers and the manufacturers on a very close basis. This has secured us a leading position in the market.”
Other success factors of the Italian distributor of electronic components are its motivated, loyal team – fluctuation has always been very low – and the fact that it is owner-managed without any external influence or capital. “We have a very informal atmosphere and we all work together on a basis of trust, from the management to the shop floor,” explains Mr. Giusti.
In the future, Welt Electronic wants to persuade even more customers of the benefits of cooperating with the Italian company by further strengthening its salesforce and establishing new contacts to new suppliers. “On the long run, we want to design and manufacture our own lighting products and sell them under our own brand,” concludes Mr. Giusti.