Schiatti - DeGorter: Double interview

Cinzia Schiatti: Hello Pete.
Pete DeGorter: Ciao Cinzia.

How long have you been working together?

Cinzia Schiatti: my company is cooperating with DeGorter Inc. since 1974. I met Dan DeGorter the other partner of the of the company in 1985, while in 2007 I met Pete.

Pete DeGorter: DeGorter has worked with Schiatti since 1974. So 48 years. Me personally, I started in 2007 and that's when our relationship started.

Where did you first met?

Cinzia Schiatti: I met a both Dan and Pete at the exhibitions; in two different periods but at exhibitions.

Pete DeGorter: The first time I met Cinzia, I believe, was in 2007, in Vitrum. It might have been Glass Build. Actually 2007 Las Vegas.

What were your impressions?

Cinzia Schiatti: It's difficult to say, but it was a good impression. And for me, it was a little bit difficult at that time, in 1985, because I was just out of the school, so my English was not so excellent, it was honestly very poor. But we soon started talking like friends.

Pete DeGorter: My first impression of Cinzia and Schiatti overall was very professional and familiar. I really felt like another part of the family, when we first met.

What is your role and which relationship do you have with the partner company?

Cinzia Schiatti: So nowadays here we have a very good business relationship, but first of that, we are good friends.

Pete DeGorter: I'm currently President at DeGorter Inc. We handle North American distribution of Schiatti products and support service. It is like a family relationship, with Schiatti and DeGorter: two families together as one.

Why did you choose to work together?

Cinzia Schiatti: Because it's easy, very easy. We are, as I said before, good friends. We are like a family and it doesn't matter if there are good or bad things that you say each other, but we are always very frank to each other. Frankness is the first thing for a good relationship.

Pete DeGorter: I can't be certain why we chose to work together. It was before I was born, I'm the fourth generation, but I can say we're very lucky to work together, and we have a lot of similarities in the way our two companies operate. We are multi-generational family companies, with a lot of the same core beliefs such as durability, longevity and service. So I think that's why we work well together. Continuing today.

Which are the goals you have completed thanks to your partnership?

Cinzia Schiatti: we have a lot. I think the best is the selling of very huge and fully electronic machines. It was a really very good job.

Pete DeGorter: in 48 years we have done a lot of projects together, including some of the largest manufacturing in the U.S. float lines. I would agree with Cinzia: one of the best projects, was a fully automated line, with automatic processing, for one of the largest producers of shower doors here in the U.S.

Which is the greatest goal you have achieved together?

Cinzia Schiatti: the largest goal we have reached is this sale of the automatic line, which was more from Pete side than from mine because he did the most of the job and this was really very important because it opened the “automatic” market to Schiatti.

Pete DeGorter: the largest goal we have achieved together in one independent location would be the automatic processing, vertical automatic processing, multiple vertical CNC an entire line a little more manual. It opened the door for a lot of things. Aside to that, we have relationships with other plants that don't have as much of one location. But when you put them all together, we have 40 machines, maybe at one partner throughout all of their locations.

And so that's another very large project we're proud to be associated with.

Which are the next goal you would like to achieve together?

Cinzia Schiatti: it's difficult to say because we have already reached a very good goals but I hope, not, I'm sure we’ll go ahead in this way and cooperating like we are used to do.

Pete DeGorter: one of the future goals that we have with Schiatti would be to more integration of vertical, horizontal, flat, double edging lines, very automated processing. That's one of the oracles for our partnership together for the future.

Which is the most beautiful fair you have held together

Cinzia Schiatti: each single exhibition has its own history and all of them are full of work but also full of fun.

Pete DeGorter: for me, the most beautiful exhibition we did was a very special one, in 2019 in Vitrum where we also celebrated Schiatti’s 50th anniversary. It was always great to get together, and to see the entire family and spend in that beautiful location that stands out a lot to me as one.

What is the thing you have always wanted to know about the other?

Cinzia Schiatti: I think my question would be what he thinks about the American market: when the market will go out of this complex situation they have at the moment.

Pete DeGorter: I think that the market will turn around and become more positive. I prefer not to speak on political items. We are seeing a little bit of a slowdown here. It may not be as bad as it looks. And inflation is a little bit of an issue for us. I'm positive but I couldn't give you a date on when everything would turn around. I'm positive that things will continue to move, maybe a little slower for the foreseeable future.

For me, one question that I have for Schiatti would be how can you behave with different views, such a big family, how do you get everything to work?

Cinzia Schiatti: it's not easy. You need a lot of patience, a lot, a lot, a lot. And sometimes you have also to decline your person for the others in terms that you must find something in the middle that could be good for everybody inside. So it's difficult, is not that easy, sometimes it cannot handle, but I try, every day.

If you could grant a wish to your partner, what could it be?

Cinzia Schiatti: Of course I wish to DeGorter to have a hundred years like they have until now, possibly with Schiatti and all the best for our cooperation partnership.

Pete DeGorter: I would wish to Schiatti 50 and plus more years of success and then also continued health and happiness.

Cinzia Schiatti: Thank you very much Pete!

Pete DeGorter: My pleasure. Thank you Cinzia.