Salvagnini Maschinenbau Produces its 4,000th Panel Bender
Salvagnini Maschinenbau produced its 4,000th panel bender for CMAlifts, the Italian manufacturer of elevators and lifting platforms. The milestone was celebrated at the Ennsdorf (Austria) plant, confirming a distinctive leadership no other manufacturer can match in panel bending.
The company has installed more than 4,000 panel benders in 80 countries. Europe’s largest plant dedicated entirely to panel bender manufacturing supports this global reach. More than 600 specialists in engineering and shopfloor operations strengthen that capability. With more than four decades of experience, Salvagnini continues to consolidate its leadership in panel bending technology.
Since 1977, when Eng. Guido Salvagnini designed and built the first P4, the panel bender has continued to evolve. Today, it works as a fully automatic solution that aligns with the needs of the modern smart factory.
Salvagnini Maschinenbau’s 4,000th panel bender marks another milestone in a long industrial journey. Number 1,000 was installed in Germany in 2006. The 1,500th unit went to the USA in 2011. Korea received number 2,000 in 2016, and China followed with number 3,000 in 2020. The newest machine is a Generation 4 P4-3220 with a maximum bending length of 3,200 mm and a maximum bending height of 203 mm.
Configured with CUT, CLA, CLA/N, P, PSE and DPM options, the system supports a broader range of applications. Integration into an FSL Flexible Smart Line will extend its capabilities even further. That line will also feature an S4 punching machine and several automation devices. CMAlifts plans to install the full system inside its new fully automated factory in Corato (Italy).
“Being part of the Salvagnini Group’s history is a source of pride for the whole CMAlifts team. This P4 reflects our culture of continuous growth and innovation,” says Giulio Caputo, CMAlifts Co-CEO. “With the new P4 we will manufacture, fully automatically, among many panels, even our most complex profiles, with consistent quality and shorter lead-times.”
Wolfgang Kunze, Technical Director at Salvagnini Maschinenbau, shares that view. “Our panel bender confirms in the field its high-end positioning, recognized by the market for productivity, flexibility, bending quality and reliability. Panel bending is gaining momentum because it addresses structural trends, from labor shortage to demographic shifts, reducing operational dependencies and variability. And in a context where sustainability is an increasingly decisive competitive factor, Salvagnini technology is already ready to support process efficiency and lower consumption. Our lean transition has been a turning point: today we demonstrate that it is possible to increase output while reducing energy use.”
Salvagnini Maschinenbau’s 4,000th panel bender represents more than a finish line. It serves as a platform for the future of productivity, sustainability and competitiveness for sheet-metal manufacturers.
