10th anniversary.

A new rotomoulding subsidiary was founded, based in Blaine.

The Mexican facilty expanded.

A new Chinese subsidiary was founded, based in Dongguan.

A new German subsidiary with extensive expertise in vacuum laminating. The new company is based in Freilassing.

Pierino Persico was awarded the title of Cavaliere del Lavoro by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, to honour his achievements in business development and job creation, and in particular his ethical and social responsibility in improving the living and working conditions of the country.

Persico Rotomoulding changed its name to Persico Industrial to reflect its broad offering of moulds, equipment and machinery using various technologies (rotomoulding, blow moulding, SMC/RTM, GMT/LFT) for numerous industries, including Trucks, Agricultural vehicles and machinery, and Heavy equipment.

Persico Group expanded to Germany and founded Persico Deutschland GmbH, in order to increase its presence in the German market and enhance local project management and technical service.

Persico bought Autoplas Systems Ltd. in Rochester Hills, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, a manufacturer of automated assembly equipment, mainly for the automotive industry. In addition to these products, the American company will start to manufacture the traditional Persico automotive and rotational products.

Persico acquired a 38,000-square-metre area (18,000 sq m covered) with two hydroelectric plants in Nembro, Bergamo, near its headquarters. The facility is undergoing technological revamping.

Persico Marine and Future Fibres Rigging Systems, based in Valencia, Spain, teamed up to share know-how and produce moulds, boats, rigging and carbon masts in the high-end turnkey yacht market. In 2012 Persico acquired additional shares of the Valencia company to become the majority shareholder with 75% of the shares. On 4 November 2014, Persico sold its stake in Future Fibres to North Technology Group.

In 2009, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, Pierino Persico was inducted into the ARM Rotational Moulding Hall of Fame for his outstanding service and accomplishments in the rotational moulding industry.

Each Persico business area has its own research and development department that aims for customer satisfaction through the use of innovative technologies to improve product quality, create new products and optimize production processes. The various R&D departments have all the necessary equipment – rotational moulding machines in Rotomoulding R&D, and automation lines and presses in Automotive R&D – to carry out tests on moulds and provide pre-series production, if needed.

Persico introduced the first computer numerical control (CNC) 5-axis miller in Italy, which was also among the first in Europe. At that time, 5-axis milling was revolutionary compared to the older 3-axis process and enabled Persico to provide its customers with previously unattainable solutions.

In a short time, Persico became one of the world’s leading companies in the production of aluminium rotational moulds. Over the years, its move towards full-service customer solutions led to the creation of an Engineering Department dedicated to the development of Leonardo, a patented rotational moulding machine with a completely automated cycle.

“I rented a basement where I could make wooden models; it was a vault once used by a wood turner. I worked in that basement for two years, alone at first. But after only six months, I already had a skilled worker and two trainees working with me. We would make everything out of wood at first: we built wooden models by gluing together one piece to another. Afterwards, we used those models to make steel moulds, which could then be used for mass production.”

Within a few years Pierino Persico extended his activities to the manufacture of aluminium and steel moulds for interior trim and sound and heat insulation for automobiles and industrial vehicles.
“We began to get to know the automotive world and create models and moulds for the automotive sector. We would start by making a wooden car entirely by hand. We made wooden models for every single component, from the steering wheel to the rear-view mirror, the doors, the door handles, the brake pedals and the engine.”

In recent years, with the support of its Engineering Department, Persico Automotive has become increasingly more specialized as a manufacturing process supplier.