Gabbiani
Gabbiani Macchine was founded in 1969 – bearing the name "Stasi", the nickname affectionately used for founder Valdo Gabbiani's wife, Anastasia – to meet the growing need for panel sawing machines in the then emerging Italian furniture industry. Heading the company was Valdo Gabbiani, who together with his brother Dante had already been involved for some years in the production of woodworking machines in the Piacenza area.
The company operated out of a small shed in Verolanuova, Province of Brescia, but before long it had to look for a larger space. The name Gabbiani Macchine became official in 1971. In the previous two years it had built, with the efforts of mainly Gianni Butturini, a beam saw prototype that was considered revolutionary at the time and made extended use of electronics. This experience was evident in the first two models, the 30 and 40 series, of sawing machines which, though not as extreme as the prototype, were viewed as an extraordinary innovation because they created a new market in Italy. The 30 series was used for cutting 10 to 100 mm thick beams, while the 40 series for cutting workpieces as thin as 3 mm. The 50 series was introduced in 1975, representing a move towards angular machines suitable for a more flexible production.
Since the early years of operation, Gabbiani's sawing machines have always been sought-after by the leading Italian furniture makers, due to their operational capabilities and numerous varied features: angular systems, machines with extremely high production capacity and high cutting quality, electronic control systems with automated loading and unloading. Designer Ettore Brizzolari was recognised for his talent in creating extremely high-performance solutions "tailor-made" to meet customers' needs; indeed, products made in that "special" line during those years represented the industry's state of the art.
The company now ventured into the installation of complete production lines that could process also other materials. However, while it continued to produce excellent machines, Gabbiani in those years suffered from management problems, which consequently led to its acquisition by SCM. Upon joining SCM the company underwent a thorough industrial reorganisation and rationalisation of its product range; while maintaining its high technological levels the company could successfully market suitable and reliable solutions for any industrial need. The Galaxy series, in particular, successfully met all the sawing needs of the furniture industry.
In recent years Gabbiani has been acclaimed also for its cell systems that include the Flexstore automated storage system along with the sawing machines, and for its "angular" sawing machines designed for extremely high productivity levels, flexibility and reliability.