Almost 50 years in business and customers in 53 countries around the world: these numbers eloquently express the spatial and temporal development of a company that has come a long way from its Milan hinterland, establishing itself as a leader in the market of electrical connection devices (elements that enable the connection of electrical cables without soldering). Today BM exploits the know-how it has acquired in years of experimentation in the field, in order to explore new frontiers through the development of avant-garde technological products that are accessible to all thanks to low costs and the international ZigBee standard.

The company

260 employees, 2 production facilities in Rozzano (Milan), 2 overseas distribution units in Canada and Slovenia: these figures provide a snap-shot of BM SpA, a company that in almost fifty years of business has managed to establish itself as leader in the electrical connections market; a company that looks confidently to the future, with a dynamism that drives both the development of new areas of business and the conquering of distant and as-yet unexplored markets. BM sales are made 20% directly to companies and 80% to distributors of electrical materials, with a presence in approximately 1600 points of sale. The company's products are currently distributed in 53 countries around the world with catalogues in 16 languages, availing of a global sales network that is extremely attentive to idiosyncrasies and particular needs of individual markets. Exports now represent no less than 20% of turnover and this figure is constantly rising, proof of BM's international vocation. The Rozzano facility (in Milan) has now extended its manufacturing operations based on physical connection devices to include wireless connections.

                        BM Group manufactures 2780 items divided into three product areas:                         BM Connecting Cables – for physical electrical connection devices  • BM Tool line – ancillary products for installers Atmosphera – the new wireless system for intercommunication between domestic devices The company also works closely with partners of international standing such as Milan Polytechnic, Stanford University and Gruppo Armando Testa for all those activities considered to be of strategic importance for the development of future company projects, but not implementable within the company. In BM SpA production facilities, automation and strict control of all production phases are the constants behind a business philosophy devoted to achieving unwavering quality, synonymous with safety and total reliability. Thanks to systems developed in the in-house laboratories, the company installed its own plants for injection-moulded plastics, high-speed blanking, die-casting of brass, high-speed turning and packaging of products, as well as warehouse automation. All this affords maximum flexibility in dealings with the sales channel and total control over production, which in turn keeps inflexibility from outside sources to a minimum.

Quality, attention to development and qualification of intellectual capital, a belief in the importance of roots and attachment to traditions: these are all core values around which the company has shaped its development, moving from the production of commodities to the creation of avantgarde technologies.  This was how the idea for BM Lab came about. Indeed, BM's investments are geared towards the future, confident as it is in the huge potential of high tech solutions for the creation of intelligent products. Atmosphera – the cost-effective wireless system - is the prime example of the company's new area of business that targets both end consumers and companies as provider of affordable wireless technologies. Behind this revolution lies the open global standard defined by the international ZigBee alliance, an association of companies who have joined forces in order to create wireless networked electrical monitoring and control products that are reliable, affordable and economic to run. BM was the first Italian company to be admitted as an active member of this alliance. Flexibility, mobility and ease of use in everyday objects which, thanks to their affordable retail price, are finally accessible to all. Meantime, the company continues to produce electrical connection devices and an entire range of products designed to support traditional customers: electrical installers. Crimping terminals – pliers and crimping tools – cable glands– multi-point terminal boards– straps– electrical terminal boards– heatproof sheaths – tools for installers. A range of products that is constantly updated thanks to ongoing contact with installers and electricians designed to guarantee products always respond to user requirements.

History

BM SpA was founded in 1958 in Milan by Mario Bertoletti, who named his company Bertoletti Mario Morsetterie Elettriche. It is a tale of quintessential Lombard sense of enterprise, founded on gritty determination and a strong bond with the land, yet it is also a story of a passion for excellence that has been handed down through three generations of one family. Mario Bertoletti started off producing electrical terminal boards, and this was the first step in the history of a company which was gradually but steadily to become a reference point in the market for connection devices for energy distribution. From the 1960s on, the company expanded from production of electrical terminal boards to all electrical connection devices, and at the end of the decade it launched a crimping connector system (as opposed to screw connectors, which were standard) thus bringing about an evolution of the market. In 1972 BM moved to new premises in Rozzano, where it opened a second production facility in 1978. In the 1980s the company expanded its portfolio of products with the launch of multi-point terminal boards. From the '90s on technology and integrated production were synonymous with BM, which achieved its goal of in-house development of the tools and the mechanical and hydraulic machinery necessary for production in order to guarantee a standard of excellence coupled with a flexible response to customer demands and ever-evolving technology. From 2000, BM has boosted diversification through production and sale of complementary products designed with installers in mind: a complete range of electrician's tools and heatproof sheaths. Numbers and products are constantly on the increase, as is BM's attention to foreign markets.

From the end of the ‘90s to the present day, the percentage of company production earmarked for export has gone from 5% to 20% . In 1991, BM was one of the first Italian companies to obtain quality certification in compliance with ISO 9001, and in 2003 with ISO 9001 Vision 2000, testifying to its attention to production processes. In recent years the company has signed agreements with training institutes and universities of international standing such as Milan Polytechnic, Stanford University and the European Institute of Design with a view to making the most of its intellectual resources and exploiting its know-how in order to relaunch the area of Rozzano as an avant-garde centre of manufacturing excellence. The company is currently in the process of obtaining ISO 14001 certification for the company's environmental management system. In 2004 BM was the first Italian company to join the ZigBee alliance: an international association of companies working to enable wireless networked monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. Then in 2005 BM launched atmosphera, a revolutionary product for home automation that opens up new frontiers for the company, exploiting know how acquired in the field of electrical connections and remaining true to its constant pursuit of excellence and innovation.