Teamwork is an essential part of workplace success and a winning feature to maintaining great projects. For the TrackDesign team, it is always an important occasion to open the doors of their workshop, the place of "doing", where projects are transformed into real objects. The space dedicated to production is set up with specific machines for processing steel and it represents a colorful environment where personalities and skills are in synergy.

We recently custom-made steel production parts for a famous Apulian venue, and recorded the production and assembly phases to show the public. The gazebo that we just constructed was Fourteen meters in diameter and six meters height. However, passion and commitment cannot be measured in simple numbers but is apparant in results and images.

Our customer was entrusted to the team TrackDesign for the tailor-made fitting of the spaces of its venue in Puglia. The need was to create three large structures useful for hosting outdoor events.

Our designer, Alessandra Savio, accepted and evaluated their specific needs to combine aesthetics and functionality and to produce harmoniously a design with the existing places. The purpose was to combine the new with the present in order to create a scenographic effect, fresh and functional. The covering of the structure is original for the cuts on the sheet. Those ones draw an articulated and sinuous intertwining and that allows the light to pass and transpose the same decoration on the floor. The “dome” in metal is supported by eight arches cut using water jet technology. For this tailor-made work we advised the customer to have a different finish from the corten: more specifically, we choose the powder-coated steel.

The idea of a continuous weave that forms a large steel dome, it was designed and realized by the team of engineers TrackDesign and made in the workshop, without ever compromising the originality of the structure.

For a better understanding about the teamwork, we meet the responsible manager of the group's production, Eng. Carla Campanella and we ask you to tell us more.

Q. In order to optimize the production phases, the customized gazebo has been revised in the workshop or has it remained “faithful” to the original idea in every part?

R. In the introduction of the article we highlighted an important element that characterizes us, the teamwork. Technical office and workshops collaborate since the preliminary design phases, in order to have an executive design without particular production problems. However, there are special cases. In the construction of the sails that form the dome, we integrated some small solutions that only in the workshop could be really evaluated. Each production has its own peculiarities. We are committed to transforming the critical aspects that a job can present into experience and security. This is also our challenge, in especially to not limit ourselves to do what we able to do and know how to do.

Q. If there was, can you tell us about the most difficult phase of this customized project?

R.Despite the non-standard dimensions of the structures, we didn’t have particular processing difficulties. The management of the various external workers was a part that required precision in the planning of the works to respect the delivery timings. The collaboration with external trusted suppliers has guaranteed the success also for this aspect too.

Q. In addition to tailor-made productions, TrackDesign takes care of selecting, prototyping and selling design objects which represents a result of the creativity of young designers, on the national or international level. The processing phases are distinct. Are there any realizations that you prefer to manage or that you are most passionate about in the workshop?

R.Working with designers is a challenge for us, the engineers. The concrete and rational mind can be sometimes in conflict with the creative proposal. In the event of such "confrontation", we turn the occasion into a challenge. This aspect makes our workshop definitely exciting.

Q. Last curiosity: The company strongly believes in the personal abilities of every professional figure within the company and invests above all in human resources and training. A woman Engineer driving a group of men in a workshop that works and transforms metals is an example to get rid of old stereotypes that still dominate the world of work life in Italy. Has it ever happened that you met clients or colleagues in contrast with this vision?

R. Since some time already I am leading the team in the workshop. My team is laborious and selected not only for professionalism, but also for the ability to collaborate and respect the roles regardless of gender and age. 

It has happened that the external parties, customers and suppliers encountered over time, they were amazed at the presence of a woman in a mechanical workshop. The satisfaction, as a professional, has been to fragment an old prejudice that turned into trust in my operational management of every order.

We are excited to talk about the importance of our teamwork, which we could define as durable as steel. We are impatient to reveal the result of this new tailor-made production.

Autore TrackDesign.