About
Formeco, born in
manufactures in the production facility located in Northern Italy
4.200 m²
indoor on an area of
10.000 m²
More than
45.000
machines installed worldwide, Formeco holds a world-wide leadership position in the production of recycling machines for waste water and solvents.
FORMECO
STORY
NICOLÈ
BROGLIO
The History of Formeco
Formeco was born in 1971 as a manufacturer of industrial high-pressure cleaners. The conversion to a Company dedicated to the production of distillation systems comes from the intuition of his founders, Adriano Nicolè and Ruggero Broglio, as a result of a specific need for a large furniture manufacturer. Formeco is, in fact, located in northeastern Italy, in one of the country’s most thriving industrial areas, characterized by a high concentration of furniture manufacturers.
Intuition and the First Prototype
These companies normally use large quantities of solvents, especially acetone, for cleaning paint systems. The distillation process was already known, widely used in refining hydrocarbons, for example. This is a process by which a volatile element (the solvent, in this case) can be separated from a non-volatile material (paint or other solid contaminants, for example). The technical staff designed a suitable prototype for this purpose. The test was positive: no functioning problem and excellent quality of the distillate. Other than the environmental benefit, an amortization period lower than one year was calculated.
A new adventure begins.
Business Expansion
Following a rapid market research to evaluate the potential demand and receiving a very positive response, they decided to attend an important fair in Bologna, an international exhibition for autobody-shop equipment, and here Formeco staff met the first national and foreign distributors. As time went by, the area of interest extended to other primary sectors, such as: printing and flexography, surface treatment (metal degreasing), fiberglass manufacturing, paints and inks production, etc
Technological Innovation
A few years later, Formeco designed a new type of distiller equipped with an internal scraper in the boiler featuring adjustable blades; by keeping the product to be processed in constant motion, this design ensures maximum solvent extraction and prevents residues from adhering to the walls and bottom of the boiler. Furthermore, an automatic drying cycle produces a solid, granular process residue.
Advanced Techniques
Fractional distillation technology, used to separate two solvents with different boiling points, rounds out the Formeco distiller lineup.
New Horizons: Water Treatment
Formeco’s history extends beyond solvent recovery systems. In the years that followed, the technical team developed a new line of evaporators that, by utilizing different technologies (primarily heat pumps), enable the treatment of wastewater generated by a wide variety of industrial processes.