𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨… 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟗: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜… 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑅𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙’𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑦, 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠, 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦.

The journey begins in 1979, when Silvestro Niboli founded Raffmetal in Casto, his hometown, just a few kilometers from the Fondital plant in Vestone. The new foundry was established with a clear mission: to produce aluminium alloys starting from scrap that had reached the end of its life cycle, mainly supplying Fondital’s radiator production.

At the core of this initiative was a forward-looking industrial vision. Silvestro understood the importance of ensuring a stable supply of aluminium and consistent raw material quality, reducing exposure to market fluctuations and strengthening the reliability of the final product.

The start-up phase was directly overseen by the founder together with his first collaborators, including Franco Franzoni, now Technical Director and member of the Board of Directors. The production process revolved around a 30-ton furnace, from which approximately 20 tons of alloy were tapped at each melt and transported in liquid form to Fondital.

In those early years, Silvestro divided his time between the two companies: managing the established production at Fondital during the day and dedicating evenings to developing the new foundry, supporting its growth with constant presence and hands-on involvement. His approach, based on close attention to operations and direct knowledge of the process, helped build an industrial culture focused on innovation and collaboration.

From the very beginning, a model emerged based on vertical integration, people focus and resource valorisation—anticipating the principles of the circular economy that today represent one of Raffmetal’s defining pillars.