The clean future is worthwhile: the shared path of Officine Ortopediche Tombolini and Enel Energia

Officine Ortopediche Tombolini is a company that embodies all the values and vitality of Italian entrepreneurship: the bond with tradition, the baton passed through generations, innovation, the connection with the territory and sensitivity to customers’ needs. This is a story that began in Taranto in 1930. Giuseppe Tombolini, who is now the administrator of the Apulian company, recounts having recently found the qualification diploma signed by King Vittorio Emanuele III, delivered by the prefect to his grandfather Oreste at the start of the business. Oreste Tombolini crafted a product that was socially fundamental: he handmade prosthetics for war veterans. It was a work of deep artisanal care, which over the decades was carried on and perfected by his son Antonio and his grandchildren.
These three generations of entrepreneurs transformed the company, completing the journey from orthopedic craftsmanship to bioengineering and 3D design. For a company like this, having a relationship of trust and co-design with its energy supplier is essential: for fifteen years, Officine Ortopediche Tombolini has chosen Enel Energia as a strategic partner.

Tombolini retraces the journey made together: «Over the years we received many offers from competitors, but with Enel we developed a relationship of mutual growth that has been fundamental for us». This is confirmed by Michele Abbate, head of the South Italy Macro Area for Enel Energia: «Officine Ortopediche Tombolini is an Italian excellence that looks toward Europe and has embraced all our values, particularly one that is carved into our DNA: the utmost attention to customers». One of the key aspects of this relationship is the support Enel Energia offered Tombolini to monitor its energy consumption. «This tool allowed us to better direct our production. Being able to know energy consumption in detail was an important step for our growth», says Tombolini.
The heart of the activity is the plant in San Giorgio Ionico, 13 kilometers from Taranto: 4,000 square meters where Tombolini’s research and innovation are developed, supported by other centers across Puglia and Basilicata. Officine Ortopediche Tombolini is one of those Italian companies that have fully understood and embraced the opportunity of the energy transition: sustainability, autonomy, savings. For this objective, they could not have found a better partner than Enel Energia, a global leader in renewables with solid roots in Italian territory.

«Monitoring is the starting point for this journey to be undertaken together», continues Abbate. «What we propose to customers is a real path of energy evolution, to be pursued through successive steps». The next project is to use the parking area to build a photovoltaic plant, with the dual aim of maximizing clean energy consumption and protecting vehicles from the heat. «For our part, attention to sustainability is paramount», says Giuseppe Tombolini: «We want to contribute to the environment, but investing in renewables with such a competent partner also allows us to reduce costs and send a message to the territory about clean energy». The energy transition needs leaders like Officine Ortopediche Tombolini, capable of paving the way for new models of consumption and resource optimization. «Companies are an active and integral part of the revolution we aspire to lead», adds Abbate. «To increase the production and consumption of renewable energy, we need these projects to also be economically viable for our customers».

The foresight of entrepreneurs like Giuseppe Tombolini is what helps bridge the gap between the present and the future.

Anticipating the times, after all, is part of the very nature of this company, which has never stopped perfecting its processes and products. «We have fully embraced the need for innovation», says Tombolini. First and foremost, for the well-being of the customers who turn to Officine Ortopediche. The plaster cast for the prosthesis, an invasive tool for customers, has been replaced by a few minutes of scanning through laser optical or structured light scanners, a process that allows absolute accuracy for the prosthesis and reduction of special waste: sustainability and innovation often go hand in hand. One of the points of pride along this growth path is the collaboration with Jacques Cheneau, one of the leading European experts in the field. The French specialist often visited Taranto and considered Tombolini a benchmark for the design of scoliosis treatment devices. Among the upcoming innovations is a smart shirt covering the patient's entire textile profile, developed together with the Federico II University of Naples, a tool that allows monitoring of scoliosis evolution and facilitates follow-up. Among the futuristic visions is a startup that will develop a filament similar to carbon fiber, produced from an eco-friendly material: mussel shells from Taranto.

The ambition for the future of lively and proud realities like Officine Ortopediche Tombolini needs clean, reliable and safe energy. «At this stage in history, it is not just the best price that matters but also the best service», observes Abbate. «The transition is a challenge and an opportunity for businesses, for the country, for humanity as a whole, and it is a change that starts from the bottom, from customers’ awareness and their choices. Our task is to show them the way and to make them understand, numbers in hand, how the transition towards clean energy is always the most worthwhile choice».