Pirey, France, is nestled in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region near the country’s border with Switzerland. Despite its small size, Pirey plays a strategic role in the area’s manufacturing industry in part due to its proximity to Besançon, a nearby city with a rich history in precision engineering and manufacturing that started with watchmaking and later expanded to robotics and automation and the production of aerospace and medical components. Pirey’s proximity to Switzerland also fuels high levels of cross-border collaborations also grounded in the production of watches and other high-value manufactured goods.
To support those efforts, a number of companies involved in metal fabrication were established there, including Dimeco, which specializes in coil processing equipment for stamping operations and other coil-fed processes. From March 19 to 21, 2025, Dimeco hosted its second Dimeco Days open house, which offered attendees an in-depth look into the company’s operations, showcasing its latest technologies and solutions in coil processing.
Dimeco Days also provided attendees with a trade show-style exhibition, which allowed them to learn more about stamping powerhouses like Aida, Seyi, EMG, Omera, Sangiacomo, AP&T and Dreher Automation. Even though most of the attendees hailed from the European Union, North Americans in attendance benefitted from the event, as well. Despite an ocean between the two continents, there are many shared strengths and challenges. As in the United States, European manufacturers are faced with labor shortages, aging equipment and economic uncertainty.
An aging workforce
In Europe just as in the United States, large portions of the manufacturing workforce have retired or are nearing retirement, which has significantly impacted the skilled trades, particularly in areas related to stamping, such as tool and die making. Exacerbating the situation is the unfortunate fact that the next generation of workers just isn’t as interested in industrial careers as the generations before them.
For anyone that’s already working in manufacturing, the next generation’s hesitation can be frustrating, considering the many benefits that jobs in the industry can provide and the high-tech advancements that have been adopted. That’s why – in Europe and in North America – training these new workers in a thoughtful way is so important for their retention and to spread the word that manufacturing is a viable career path and an exciting one at that.
Each of the stamping companies that exhibited at Dimeco Days understands this and places high priority on proper training and ushering in the latest technologies along the way. It’s crucial not just for the newer staff, but for the veteran staff, as well.
“Young people in Europe like using modern equipment,” says Laurent Pietrobon from the sales department at Pressix, an Italian producer of mechanical eccentric and hydraulic presses. “They grew up using computers, so training can be really fast for them. But, when you have older staff that have been working on older machines, it can be difficult.”
From the prospective of overall company productivity, training is basically the be-all end-all. The bulk of press manufacturers spend at least a week training customers on their new equipment as it’s being installed, and the most reputable of press manufacturers will provide training through the life of the machine to ensure customers can get the most from their investment.
“If operators aren’t properly trained on a press, they simply can’t unlock its full potential,” says Valerio Ferraro, sales manager at Omera, an Italian manufacturer of mechanical and hydraulic presses with a global customer base. “Customers often make significant investments in advanced machinery, but without serious training, they won’t achieve the gains they expect. True transformation only happens when operators fully understand the software, controls and technology behind the machine. That’s when the real return on investment begins.”
Omera, like the other press manufacturers at Dimeco Days, offers customers a range of training tools, starting with the hands-on, on-site training during installation all the way through periodical training at the OEM headquarters or at the customer locations. They post training videos on their websites and YouTube pages and produce a range of training materials available for download. Many also provide customized training to match the needs of their customers.
“We provide all of the training that our customers need,” says Stéphanie Long, the president of EMG, a press manufacturer based in Marigny-Saint-Marcel, France, a few hours south of Pirey. “We’ll work with them to decide what level of training they need based on their goals for their new investment. But we’ll be there for them in the future, too.
“It’s not uncommon for customers to come to us a year later saying that they’re trying to attract new customers,” he adds. “To do that, they know that they need to learn new ways of working with their equipment. In those situations, we’re more than happy to help them with more training. We’re constantly helping our customers win new customers.”
Aging equipment
Winning new customers and retaining new press operators have a lot in common. They are both dependent on proper training as well as the equipment those staff are being trained on. For the younger new hires, newer presses with modern controls are preferred, but not always guaranteed. In the United States and in Europe, a lot of stamping companies are holding on to their legacy equipment, repairing it and refurbishing it often beyond a machine’s expected lifespan. Some might even say that stamping presses last too long. Just ask Michele Archenti, Europe’s sales and marketing manager for Aida, a global manufacturer of servo and mechanical presses, including gap-frame and straight-side, progressive and transfer.
“Presses are robust machines that are built to last,” he says. “And, therefore, it’s common here in Europe for manufacturers to refurbish machines instead of buying new. That can be considered a problem, but it can also be considered an opportunity, depending how you look at it.
“At Aida, we are basically obsessed with producing quality equipment – beyond a reasonable limit if you’re talking about selling more machines,” he adds. “We want to be recognized for high quality, so we can’t help but build a lot of robustness into our machines.”
At Aida as well as many of the companies represented at Dimeco Days, there are two business models: selling new machines and modernizing, servicing and overhauling old machines. Archenti says that the latter business model is currently flourishing, but that it often circles back to customers later investing in new machines.
“Whether a customer buys a new machine or refurbishes an older machine, it’s a tailored activity that is based on partnerships that we’ve established with our customers,” Archenti says. “The customers of new machines are also customers of our service business unit. Sometimes one business wins and sometimes it’s the other business that wins, but overall, we have the customer’s best interest in mind.”
New controls
In terms of stamping press refurbishments, there can be a lot involved. To bring a machine back to optimal working condition – either to extend its life, improve safety and efficiency, or adapt it to new production needs – there are plenty of components that can be replaced and repaired. The short list includes worn-out clutches and brakes, degraded wear plates, misaligned slides, and old bearings and valves.
When it comes to retaining staff and winning customers, however, replacing a press’s controls can play a big role. Not only are they easier to learn and use, but they are also often packed with tools that can increase a stamper’s productivity. At Dimeco Days, modern controls were on display at almost every booth, many of which can be retrofitted onto older machines.
“Our goal is to develop simple solutions that help our customers improve their quality and productivity,” says EMG’s Long. “For the controls, customers can store programs just like they would on their personal computer. They can monitor their machines and analyze the data that’s gathered to make improvement and avoid downtime. They can also give permissions to certain users or lock out other users so that only the designated operators or managers can make changes.
“These controls can also be very helpful in training scenarios,” he adds. “Managers can export the results of a certain machine or operator to analyze the successes or issues that happened during production. If there are production difficulties, it makes it easier to find out what happened and correct it.”
Whether a stamper is located in the United States, Europe or anywhere else around the globe, they are – and have been – dealing with economic uncertainty. Lessons learned during the pandemic are being applied to today’s trade volatility. As before, agility and efficiency will drive competitiveness, often achieved through high-value equipment, such as modern controls and presses. Without employees that are properly trained on that equipment, however, navigating turbulent times will be all the more difficult.
