STR Automotive innovates

Linen fibre to make the new generation of car exterior components such as bumpers, skirts and spoilers in polymers derived from vegetable raw materials: these are some of the innovations developed by STR Automotive, four production units in Pesaro, one in Maranello by early 2025, a company in England, about 450 employees and 100 million in turnover, supplier to Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Aston Martin, among others. It is the luxury segment, which sees the car as synonymous with style, performance and taste, which is addressing the issue of efficient use of energy (vehicles will necessarily have to have reduced masses and, therefore, lightweight components) and which is developing technologies for autonomous driving thanks to the introduction of on-board sensors, which will significantly reduce the risk of collisions. 'As a result, the exterior cladding of cars will have different functions,' explains Massimo Cecchini, the company's CEO. 'Their contribution in terms of aerodynamics and aesthetics will remain, and we will see increasing integration with electronics.

An evolution that intersects directly with sustainability applied to the products and raw materials used for the production of manufactured goods, so as to meet the demand of large manufacturers by supplying them with components made of plastics that are truly of vegetable origin. Here, flax fibre, bonded with certain types of resins, guarantees to achieve the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions and has a degree of moisture absorption equal to that of plastics. "When flax grows, like any vegetable, it absorbs an amount of carbon dioxide that equals that which the energy-intensive process requires to transform it into a manufactured product," explains the entrepreneur, who speaks of "an extraordinary and exciting result". But this is not the only material being studied and experimented with by the Pesaro-based company, which is looking for alternatives to polyurethane: "We are evaluating the first polymers obtained from vegetable sources," Cecchini anticipates, "whose technical performance is perfectly identical to that guaranteed by polymers derived from fossil raw materials, but with the same weight they reduce the carbon footprint by 66%.

At STR Automotive, now a smart factory to all intents and purposes, we design for the environment and the green revolution even touches the technical department's bill of materials, the document that collects all the basic elements (there can be up to 500) of each product ("we produce about a thousand a day, printed and painted"): for each one, in addition to the functional specification and cost, the carbon footprint has been introduced, thus enabling a preventive study that can already direct the construction of the component at the design stage, so that the environmental impact can be assessed in advance. "Our technical department interfaces with the customer to develop the feasibility study and the engineering phase," explains Cecchini. "Then concepts, equipment and tests are agreed: starting from the style model, we develop the project, design the equipment, build it and start production. And everything happens in-house so that we have control and responsibility for what we consider a very delicate part of the production process'.

The company is also committed on the internal front to support current developments from an ESG perspective (environmental, social and governance impact): after completely converting all processes and operational management to digital for more than eight years now, the first investments towards Industry 5.0 are starting, with an allocation of about EUR 1 million for the first activities. Investments for the production of green energy for self-consumption also continue: an additional 380kw of photovoltaic energy is planned for next year. On the corporate welfare front, postural education courses and advice from a nutritionist have been introduced. Finally, in the area of governance, 'the salary balance has been achieved,' says Cecchini proudly, 'an indispensable asset for a company like ours, open to change and innovation.