Tudertechnica, an Italian family-owned company, specializes in the design and manufacture of high-performance technical hoses for various demanding industries such as food, cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical. With a strong focus on quality, the company holds prominent global certifications and continuously strives for innovation, offering customized solutions to cater to the unique requirements of its global customers.
Hose + Coupling World recently had the delight of interviewing Andrea Compostella, the Global Sales & Marketing Manager of Tudertechnica, to delve deeper into the company’s operations and learn about its new sustainable processes.
By Ellie Pritchard
Tudertechnica was established in 1983 as Tubigomma Deregibus by Alfio Deregibus, a famous technical expert in rubber hoses made on a rigid mandrel. The company had the goal of investing in technology, equipment, and research and development (R&D) to provide the best possible hose products to its customer base. Through innovative design and high-quality manufacturing, the company ensures its products are tailored to its customers’ needs even after 40 years’ time, maintaining the key flexibility for which it is renowned. The current CEO, Andrea Deregibus, took over from his father in 1993 with a core focus on product development to ensure its innovations could meet the market’s most challenging demands.
Strong Growth and High Potential
In 2022, the company invested over two million euros (USD $2.2 million) into a new warehouse for stock and raw materials, plus two new production lines for hoses for the food and beverage industry. “The investment included upgrading our large-diameter hose production capacity from 12 meters to 16 meters in length,” said Compostella. “We make a wide range of high-quality hoses with mandrel-wrap technology for the food and beverage, chemical, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. We also produce a wide range for peristaltic pumps, material handling, and other industrial applications.”
“Investments in technology, materials research, and the development of new structural solutions support our focus on high-level products,” explained Compostella. “We pay a lot of attention to new applications with a very high potential, and these require high-performance components.”
Compostella goes on to explain that the team is already working in many of these high-potential areas, such as supplying products for the cooling systems of large wind turbines with producers in Europe and China. The company also sell special hoses for the hydrogen production, distribution, and fuel-cell sector; its products appear in the production processes of semiconductors and lithium batteries. Another area of high potential is CO2 recovery, where Tudertechnica hoses assist in reducing both emissions and costs for their customers. “These are just some examples of interesting new applications for us, in which we will see strong growth in the near future.”
“The human factor is at the heart of our strategy. Close relationships with our raw materials producers assist us in manufacturing high-quality products suitable for every customer requirement and compliant with the highest demands for certifications in the global market.”
Sustainable Processes
In April 2023, Tudertechnica completed the installation of brand-new solar panels at its Padova manufacturing facility to produce sustainable, clean energy from the sun. The estimated annual production will be 756.000 kWh – equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 280 households; roughly 75% of the facility’s total energy requirements. The team is also considering the installation of batteries as a means to store excess energy.
By embracing photovoltaics, Tudertechnica intends to substantially reduce its carbon footprint and mitigate the harmful emissions that contribute to climate change. Diversifying its energy resources will mean the company reduces its CO2 emissions by 400 tons per year (the equivalent to that produced by 400 cars in Italy alone). Furthermore, as energy production and consumption take place in the same location, further emissions caused by transportation are minimized.
Andrea acknowledged that this was not only beneficial for the company, but a necessary commitment. “This was a huge investment, but photovoltaics gives us more independence from the grid and goes some way to contributing to a better world. We recognize our corporate responsibility to monitor our energy use, especially as our facilities require so much energy for production processes, such as the calendaring machines.”
In Expert Hands
Tudertechnica is a manufacturer of high-end products, but it is its relationship with people that the company considers its most valuable asset. “The human factor is at the heart of our strategy,” explained Compostella. “Close relationships with our raw materials producers assist us in manufacturing high-quality products suitable for every customer requirement and compliant with the highest demands for certifications in the global market.”
“Our distributors also play a key role in the way we do things; we consider many of them our partners. They serve as knowledgeable and skilled representatives, possessing extensive expertise in various market sectors. Over the course of time, we have fostered strong relationships with them, based on mutual benefit and close collaboration. Today, our consolidated distribution network covers more than 50 countries worldwide.”
“We are constantly investing in innovation and in the quality of our products and components.”
Compostella was keen to stress that there is one theme that has guided the company’s evolution: continuous innovation. “Our R&D department is largely composed of chemical engineers who constantly evaluate new materials to provide solutions and meet different market needs. Every team member receives regular, proactive training to achieve positive and constructive collective thinking.”
The team’s specialism and technical knowledge, combined with the products’ customization capabilities are what distinguish Tudertechnica from its competitors.
“We are a medium-sized company; not small and not large,” said Andrea. “But we are very technical. We are constantly investing in innovation and in the quality of our products and components.” This is not only a financial investment, but also an investment in time and manpower to improve product capabilities.
“We strive to provide the best solutions to our industry’s challenges. Tudertechnica can apply its knowledge to any application where a hose is a critical component,” Andrea continued. “With us, the customer is in expert hands.”
Strategic Moves
Tudertechnica, in collaboration with its longstanding supplier and business partner Fluortubing USA, expanded its foothold in the North American market by establishing Tuder FT USA LLC in Campbellsville, Kentucky, in 2020. This strategic move aimed to enhance local market presence, foster improved communication with the distribution network, and deliver enhanced services through a market-driven inventory and a dedicated local sales team. Compostella emphasized, “Our commitment to providing high-quality hoses and innovative solutions drove us to establish a Kentucky location with a localised inventory and sales team. This allows us to better nurture and support our distribution network in the region.”
Safe Solutions
Tudertechnica’s focus lies on serving the top end of the market rather than providing commodity products. Compostella stressed the company’s unwavering commitment to safety. Their hoses are designed to be ergonomic, lightweight, safe, and aesthetically appealing, ensuring that users can handle them with ease and end users benefit from products that remain unchanged as they pass through the hoses.
This dedication to safety has propelled Tudertechnica’s success in various demanding sectors, including the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. These sectors uphold rigorous safety standards throughout their production processes and have specific, exacting requirements. Compostella stated, “Our mission is to offer them the ideal solution: a flexible hose made from high-quality materials. Our production materials are highly resistant to frequent cleaning and sterilization, odorless, tasteless, and flexible. They preserve the integrity and characteristics of the conveyed products.”
Spiraltech® Extra Glide
The production process involves using stainless steel mandrels of sizes ranging from 3/8″ to 4″ (10 mm to 102 mm) to create clean and smooth tubes for food grade hoses. Most applications are shipped in forty-meter-long coils, while sixteen-meter-long hoses are provided for abrasive material handling requirements.
When lightweight design and exceptional flexibility are crucial, Tudertechnica offers its highly popular Spiraltech® Extra Glide product line. “Spiraltech® Extra Glide hoses feature an external thermoplastic helix embedded in the rubber cover. This helix provides protection against abrasive surfaces while imparting extra flexibility without adding weight. Similar to our Glidetech® hoses, the Spiraltech® Extra Glide hoses effortlessly slide over the floor.”
For customers using Tudertechnica ergonomic hoses, the benefits are noticeable from day one, as they are easy to handle and maneuver in narrow spaces. They are available in various materials and colors, catering to a wide temperature range to meet specific application needs. The robust textile construction ensures superior pressure resistance while maintaining great flexibility.
“The bright, glossy, and mold-resistant corrugated cover provides high abrasion resistance, extending the hose’s lifespan beyond that of standard hoses,” said Compostella.
“We strive to provide the best solutions to our industry’s challenges. Tudertechnica can apply its knowledge to any application where a hose is a critical component. With us, the customer is in expert hands.”
High End Cleanroom Production Site
In 2018, the company further strengthened its capabilities by introducing an innovative ISO 14644 CLASS 8 certified cleanroom. This expansion allowed Tudertechnica to offer platinum-cured silicone hoses, both with wrapping and extrusion technologies, in various structures, certified to meet the most stringent international standards. The controlled environment allows manufacturing, testing, and packaging in an atmosphere with a controlled number of suspended dust microparticles, ensuring the final product’s absolute quality and purity.
The main advantages of cleanroom production are as follows:
- The entire production process happens inside the cleanroom, from the start of manufacture until packaging, ensuring the shipping of pure coils;
- The impact of scraps on every order is significantly smaller due to the production of 40 meter-long hoses, compared to the current industry standard of 4/6 meters;
- Double production technology (mandrel-wrap & extrusion) provides customers with a wide range of structures and possibilities;
- A faster response, especially to the European market.
Compostella explained further: “Our cleanroom products are all manufactured with platinum-cured silicone, either white, transparent, or translucent. We also offer a unique solution; Tupharm® PTFE Sil, a high-end pharmaceutical hose with a certified tube of coextruded clear/white TeflonTM PTFE and a white, glossy, high-temperature resistant silicone cover. The same hose is also available in our flareable Flex version, with a clear, smooth liner, and corrugated externally TeflonTM PTFE tube for enhanced flexibility.”
Peristaltic Pump Hoses
Peristaltic pumps have been a part of Tudertechnica’s product range for many years, but the team has recently turned its focus to maximizing its efficiency and improving this vital equipment. In this application the hose is not simply a component, but rather the heart of the pump.
Peristaltic pumps use a rotor to compress a flexible tube, inducing fluid flow inside the pump. The tube’s cover must resist lubricant and withstand compression. Benefits of such equipment can include no contact or reduced risk of contamination, flow control, self-priming, and easy maintenance. Critical hose features include compression and rebound properties, strong adhesion, and material compatibility, and grinding the cover ensures tighter outer diameter (OD) tolerances based on pump design.
“The hose must be tailored to almost every different type of pump,” said Compostella. “The OD tolerance must be very limited, that is why we have also invested in a grinding line in order to be able to do it on our own.”
It is very important for the hose OD to be totally even throughout to make sure the peristaltic pump works efficiently, and to lengthen the life of the hose component. The grinding material removes excess material to ensure a perfect external diameter. “Having the ability to do this work in-house means we have total control over the quality of our products,” Andrea confirmed.
Tudertechnica is a company known for its extensive experience and in-house expertise. Since its establishment in 1983, it has cultivated a culture that values environmental responsibility, customer care, and employee growth. This October, Tudertechnica will be commemorating its 40th anniversary with a global sales meeting and a celebration. The party will bring together current and former colleagues to mark this important milestone. It serves as a testament to Tudertechnica’s commitment to its core values and the positive impact it has made on the hose industry over the years.