SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES – STEELCONTROL Pedal, the winners’ choice

How four famous companies are confirmation of the technological leadership in the manufacturing of laundry accessories of this company headquartered in Gorgonzola (near Milan)

History
SteelControl was established in 1982 as a satellite company for Sorba, a company founded in 1959, in order to create a business specialized in the design and production of control pedals. Making a conscious choice to go against the mainstream, we found ourselves with a truly singular company on the market. For us the pedal is not just one of the many products in the catalogue but the product on which the entire catalogue is built.
Production
We have single or multiple pedals, electrical or pneumatic pedals or even mixed pedals and accordion pedals, in plastic or metal or mixed materials, with different shapes and sizes, containing one or more valves or switches.
Customization
We produce special customized products for companies that need to market control pedals as complementary products in their own catalogue.
As an entirely one-of-a-kind enterprise, we design and produce the bases and metal protections on which the pedals are mounted, so as to create a finished product which is customized based on our own design or that of the end customer. These applications are widely appreciated in both the electromedical and industrial ironing sector.

We create industrial products in which glitz takes back seat to functionality and reliability. We’ve never believed in jumping on the pure design bandwagon and creating rounded pedals shaped like a computer mouse, neglecting the fact that the sole of a shoe is flat and not concave like the palm of a hand, or forgetting that a finger’s precision and pressure are very refined and quite different from that which a foot could apply to a control pedal. We want nothing to do with prevalent trends, and we certainly don’t want to be changing colors each year based on what’s vogue at the moment. We’d rather be able to guarantee that the product you just purchased will still be available down the road for additions or replacements, focusing more on aesthetic consistency between the different production lines than passing fads.
The distinguishing feature of STEELCONTROL is its reliability.
It is based on dependable quality and specific, precise and well-tested procedures for checking the incoming components. An operating test is performed on 100% of the products coming out of the factory in Gorgonzola (Milan). Furthermore, spot checks are carried out to test the tensile and torsional strength of the cables, as well as the accidental fall resistance with cycles of 100 consecutive falls from a height of one meter. The resistance to electrical discharge, fire (for special plastics), water and dust is also tested, to the point of obtaining products that can work even if submerged completely in water. Finally, the mechanical life test of the pedal requires that it withstand ten million consecutive activations achieved through a pneumatic piston simulating the pressure of a foot.
A large warehouse and quick delivery times are just one more indication of STEELCONTROL’s focus on customer needs. Considering all this, the outstanding functionality of this product is no surprise, especially since its characteristics and qualifications are suited for a wide variety of sectors, including the highly demanding medical sector.
For the ironing sector, in particular, STEELCONTROL produces extra-long pedals to facilitate their use. It also produces multiple pedals connected to the machine through a single cable so that they can then be positioned freely according to the operator’s needs, thus focusing the product’s ergonomic study on the operator and his individual physical characteristics.
Clearly all this comes with a cost, although moderate, which is duly appreciated only by small or large companies aiming to stand out for quality and innovation. As a result, the STEELCONTROL product has become a “guaranteed brand”. Those who mount STEELCONTROL on their machines don’t worry about expenses when it comes to guaranteeing top quality for their customers.
We are happy to introduce some of these companies below, companies whose winning success, more than just words, bears out our 30 years of commitment in the ironing world.
We look forward to seeing all our partner companies and others next October at the EXPOdetergo exhibition, where even STEELCONTROL will be participating with its stand. (Pavilion 4 – Stand. B07 C08)

A13 – BARBANTI – PONY – TREVIL

A13
There’s no recovery without quality. And the ironing sector is no exception. To fully appreciate this just visit A13, which is so much more than a beautiful shop located at 57 via Venini in the Brianza-Pasteur district of Milan. It’s a downright modern
commercial enterprise which serves both those who build laundry machines as well as those who use them in their own drycleaning company. Given this, it’s easy to understand how such a fruitful synergy was created “in the field” between A13 and
STEELCONTROL centered, of course, on high-quality pedals produced by  STEELCONTROL. Currently A13 purchases two types of pedals, an electric one and a pneumatic one, and resells both to manufacturers of laundry machines and the actual laundries themselves, depending on demand.
A13 has been producing padding and covers for ironing boards for more than 30 years. The materials and prices of these products vary, ranging from the simple fabric and felt cover to sophisticated multilayer solutions with nets, silicones and high-tech fabrics, quickly becoming the sector benchmark. The production targets both the industrial sector (dry cleaning and clothing machines) and the household (suction boards and suction/blowing tables). The high production standard is guaranteed by the same high-level machines responsible for the huge success of the Italian fashion clothing industry, combined with a set of very rigid and scientifically reliable quality control tests. Furthermore, great expertise and attention to every detail in production allows A13 to meet the needs of machine manufacturers and technicians for machine fittings as well as end customers, who can request any type of specific customization of the product.
Thus it is highly likely that there will be new, winning synergies in the future between two brands representing the ‘Made in Italy’ so well in the laundry sector: A13 and STEELCONTROL.

——————————————————————————————————-

BARBANTI
Barbanti Srl is extremely grateful to STEELCONTROL, one of its historical suppliers, for the special relationship they’ve enjoyed over the years.
On the other hand Barbanti, with over 40 years of experience in the industrial ironing sector, has always had to resort to suppliers capable of guaranteeing efficient and long-lasting products in order to achieve its position at the forefront as a designer and manufacturer of high-quality machines with outstanding reliability.
Barbanti sells its products worldwide, mainly in “demanding” markets, and thus uses only high-quality components.
All parts assembled on Barbanti machines are carefully selected and monitored over time. Moreover, this Modenese company has always focused on the research and manufacturing of innovative machines for each type of clothing, paying particular attention to the customer’s needs. As a result, it successfully developed a complete line of specific finishers capable of guaranteeing both top quality and high productivity.
Today Barbanti can boast a wide range of products including steam generators, tables, toppers, combined units, trouser presses and form finishers. With regard to the form finishers, the company produces as many as eight versions for ironing shirts and another eight for jackets, each with different characteristics to meet all customers’ needs.
One of the particularly successful models is the shirt finisher designed in 1993. The original prototype, the result of a brilliant idea, has undergone continuous improvements and upgrades over the years. Two of the many international
patents Barbanti can be so proud of are actually protecting its heat recovery system and form press units. In particular,
model 483 is capable of ironing both dry and wet shirts perfectly without any touch-ups, so as to obtain high hourly production rates, high energy savings of more than 25% and a healthier working environment due to reduced emissions of
steam and hot air.
It is available in both the electrical version as well as the version designed to be connected to a steam source, and it can be customized based on the customer’s needs by interchanging clothes stands, sleeve tensioners, clamps and press units.

——————————————————————————————————-

PONY
Pony boasts over 55 years of expertise in the design and production of industrial ironing and finishing equipment.Pony has always focused on the choice of premium quality raw materials and components in order to guarantee that its products are
built with the same quality and reliability that made the Pony brand a worldwide leader in the sector. This is why Pony is so proud to include STEELCONTROL, a professional and reliable partner, among its historical suppliers. Their aesthetic sense fits in just perfectly with the precision and functionality of their products, fully in line with a demanding corporate philosophy.
Till the 80’s Pony had been known for its ironing tables, its spotting machines, its steam generators, its form finishers and its finishing cabinets, but the last decades proved us leaders also in the production of tensioning form finishers and, above all,
shirt finishers, from the first model introduced into the market in the early 90’s to the new ones introduced during the most important exhibitions of this market: models Angel and EAGLE.
The Eagle shirt finisher stands out for its innovative features such as its sliding front clamp, Teflon-coated yoke press and entirely new clamping system which ensures perfect finishing of sleeves, cuffs and sleeve-plackets. Eagle was designed to reduce energy consumption as much as possible with its patented H.A.R.S. device, which pre-heats the air used by the machine.
The machine is characterized by a low noise level, compact size, ease of use, outstanding results with various shirt styles and sizes, excellent ergonomics due to the lower position of its dummy (compared to previous ones and similar products on the market) and an adjustable height. All these features contribute to making EAGLE the perfect shirt finisher to meet all customer’s needs, as demonstrated by the remarkable number of machines installed worldwide since it was first launched in 2013.
And even for their top-of-the-line machine, Pony has chosen STEELCONTROL as their partner supplier.

——————————————————————————————————-

TREVIL

As Corinna Mapelli, manager of Trevil srl states, “The relationship between Trevil and STEELCONTROL is simply historical by now. Since the folding finishing table Domostir Plia, created in the 80’s, up to the most advanced finishing units available
on the market today, many of our machines are working every day, all over the world, thanks to STEELCONTROL pedals.
A relationship as long lasting as this is clearly based on the reliability, robustness and outstanding quality/price ratio of the STEELCONTROL products. Both versions, pneumatic and electrical, are highly appreciated by operators, particularly for the
ergonomics features guaranteed by the sensitivity, shape and anti-slip characteristics of the pedals.”
Engineer Mapelli then elaborates, “The Presto line, our series of hot plate shirt units, combines the outstanding productivity that characterizes this shirt finisher design with Trevil’s focus on ironing quality. Presto shirt units boast excellent performance, application flexibility, ergonomics and reliability. The ironing quality is guaranteed by small but important features such as the Teflon coating on the presses, in order to avoid producing a shine on dark fabrics, or the sleeve tension and inclination adjustment for ad hoc ironing of any fabric and shirt style. Particular care was taken in the design of the ironing system of the tucks and cuff placket of the sleeves.”

As Corinna Mapelli concludes, “We’ve decided to use a STEELCONTROL pedal for Presto too; a single, simple element used to control a powerful and sophisticated machine. For an automatic finishing unit subject to intense work for many years, simplicity and reliability of the actuation devices are essential features. With the help of STEELCONTROL we’ve succeeded in obtaining this. We’ll undoubtedly be long-lasting partners as we continue to develop the most suitable products to meet -the needs of our customers.”

______________________________________________________________

STEELCONTROL SRL
Via Trieste 103
20064 Gorgonzola (Milano)
Tel./Ph +39 02 9510552
Fax +39 02 95300330
Email: info@steelcontrol.it
www.steelcontrol.it