In the special issue dedicated to Automechanika, one of the most important international trade fairs for the automotive sector, the prestigious German magazine Automobilwoche talks about UFI Filters, based on an interview with Chairman Giorgio Girondi in Nogarole Rocca. The Chairman tells how the company has always focused on innovation and is now looking to the future by investing in green hydrogen technologies. “We love difficult challenges. And we firmly believe in the future of green hydrogen, both for power generation and for use in heavy goods vehicles, but also in cars.”
The UFI Filters Group, recognised as a global leader in filtration systems, is chosen as original equipment by 95% of car manufacturers and manufacturers accounting for 50% of the world’s heavy commercial vehicle production using UFI-manufactured oil, air and fuel filtration systems, as well as thermal management systems. And it is precisely during Automechanika that the Group’s innovations such as the innovative MEAs Membrane Electrode Assemblies for the production of green hydrogen, produced by the Group’s NewCo, UFI Hydrogen, are presented.
These new solutions will be produced in the new plant located in northern Italy, in the Adige Valley, dedicated to the industrialisation of catalysed membranes for the production of green hydrogen thanks to European NextGeneration funds and the Autonomous Province of Trento. UFI Hydrogen is the only Italian company to be part of the IPCEI-Programme Hy2Move of the European Union which is funded with 1,4 bn Euros for projects investing in hydrogen mobility.
Giorgio Girondi emphasised also the significance and strong focus on the Chinese market, where it has operated since 1982 with seven plants and a research centre. The company has built a 45 million euro plant in the Zhejiang Province south of Shanghai, focusing on electric vehicle, hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
The company invests 5% of its turnover in research and development and is seeking for further strategic alliances in the German market such as BMW, Siemens Energy and Linde, the Chairman said. Recently UFI Group acquired Friedrichs Filtersysteme GmbH in Germany to expand its offering in the energy, marine, wind and mining sectors.
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‘We believe in green hydrogen’
Giorgio Girondi, Chairman of filter system specialist UFI, is in favour of innovation and convinced of China’s potential
NOGAROLE ROCCA. Giorgio Girondi has made UFI Filters one of the world’s leading suppliers of filtration systems for the automotive industry. The 69-year-old Chairman of the company from Nogarole Rocca, south of Verona, took over the company co-founded by his father in 1984. Since then the annual turnover has risen to 600 million euros. According to the company, 95 per cent of car manufacturers and half of the heavy commercial vehicle manufacturers use UFI’s oil, air and fuel filter systems, as well as thermal management. Customers also come from the aerospace and shipbuilding industries.
Girondi has always focused on innovation. Since 2017, it has been investing in green hydrogen production. With the help of funding from the European NextGeneration recovery programme and the Autonomous Province of Trento, UFI is building a plant in the Adige Valley for the industrialisation of catalysed membranes for the production of green hydrogen.
UFI Group will present these innovations at the Automechanika in Frankfurt. Girondi is still looking for external partners for the new company UFI Hydrogen S.r.l.: ‘We are open to strategic partnerships,’ he told Automobilwoche. Girondi is thinking of companies such as Bosch, Siemens Energy or Linde. It is also conceivable that this part of the company could be listed separately. ‘We like difficult challenges. And we firmly believe in the future of green hydrogen, both for energy production and for use in heavy commercial vehicles, but also in cars.”
Girondi is convinced of China’s potential. UFI has been producing air, oil and petrol filtration systems there since 1982. Seven of its 21 plants and one of its three research and development centres are located there. About one third of the turnover comes from China, where 2,300 of the 4,400 employees worldwide work. ‘They have the most advanced technology in the world in the field of electromobility,’ says Girondi. In July, he and other entrepreneurs accompanied the head of government Giorgia Meloni to China.
Five per cent of UFI’s turnover is invested in research and development. Italians hold 320 patents. The aftermarket business accounts for almost half of the turnover.
Thermal management components
UFI has been working on electrification since 2010: ‘Cooling systems are crucial to prevent batteries from overheating and to ensure flawless operation and a long service life,’ says Girondi. UFI produces components for thermal management and has built a EUR 45 million plant in China that focuses on environmentally friendly technologies for use in electric vehicles, hydrogen and fuel cells.
In Germany, Friedrichs Filtersysteme GmbH, which develops filter systems for the energy, marine, wind and mining sectors, was acquired in 2022. However, UFI’s main focus is on organic growth.
