Fabrizio Troccoli/The Globe and Mail
Several young Russian technicians are gathered at a table next to the gleaming machine that will soon be delivered to the Scientific Research Institute of Vaccines and Sera in St. Petersburg. For obvious reasons, it’s a hot seller, and Marchesini can’t keep up with demand. The company is one of the world’s top five makers of vaccine-packaging equipment – two of which are Italian, three German. It is but one example of Italy’s low-profile fleet of family-owned engineering companies, laden with patents, that have become pocket-sized global players in high-value industries.
Marchesini’s “machine” is somewhat of a misnomer. The completed product is a series of machines that form a self-contained, fully automated assembly line – a miniature factory, in effect – capable of spitting out 400 to 600 vaccine-filled vials or syringes per minute.