by Stefano Belviolandi

The talent and the will to survive in such a difficult moment as this 2020 marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, allowed Cieffe Filati to arrive at the end of the year with a certain tranquillity. We spoke with Maurizio Cecioni, the company sole administrator.

What motivations is this tranquillity based on?

“Relying on a good share of the promotional embroidery sector, I saw these same clients start with a good pace and, in some cases, adjust their productions to face the pandemic. Cieffe Filati was established in 1983 in the province of Pistoia, first as an Snc and then as an Srl, in 2020, thanks to the third generation of entrepreneurs. I was able to satisfy many of my clients that were asking for materials to manufacture protection masks, like the so-called TNT (non-woven fabrics) along with rubber bands. All this thanks to a consolidated historical value, a warehouse ready to meet the needs and a structure that, in a diffused way, can reach the clients to whom we offer both materials and advice. In brief, we have maintained the typical artisanship of the Italian production fabric at an industrial level”.

Did you have to make sacrifices?

«Although we closed the manufacturing department during the lockdown months, we continued to supply only the essential items for emergencies, stopping the production of yarns. If, on the one side, some clients of the promotional area managed to recover, there is no doubt that, like most sectors, the promotion one was hit hard during both the lockdown and all the months of this year”.

Is there a recipe that could help to not go down?

“Today, for example, I would suggest focusing on masks and clothing for the product categories open to the public or to the manufacturing companies they need them to carry out their own business. Another example I am thinking about, especially for those producing promotional items is to rely more on online sales”

How was the relationship with luxury brands?

«Cieffe Filati also follows the sectors of clothing and leather for which, through collaborations with Luxury brands, we managed to work and obtain results thanks to the fact that these brands operate on an international level, where markets are not all the same and, especially during 2020, not all of them closed the borders simultaneously. Some Asian countries, for example, after several months of stop, reopened their frontiers when in Europe we were in the middle of the lockdown”.

What are your ideas and expectations for the future?

«I define myself as an innovative and indomitable dreamer. What about the recovery? Supposing that the anti-Covid vaccine was made available in 2021, the companies will have to restore the balance in the positions and productions to see, then, a turning point in 2022».