CO.FI.PLAST

Interview with Emilio BROCCO: THE CO.FI.PLAST SRL

How came the need to create a company that produced diamond wire?

The idea of plastifying the diamond wire got me to a choice: open a company able to create this product, so in the 80's the CO.FI.PLAST is born.

Initially the wires that we used were wires for the marble, with springs and no plastic; the idea of the plastification led to the realization to wires at first plastified, then rubbered for the quarry cut. The transition from the first to the second solution has allowed to increase the tool life, to improve the heat resistance and to produce more flexible tools. The plastified wire has then taken its path to the sawmill cutting.

Which were the initial difficulties in the production of the diamond wire?

The process of plastification was the biggest innovation, so that gave the biggest initial problems. The first plastifying presses were horizontal, so it was very difficult to guarantee the quality of the wire. The experience made us more independent and we had the expertise and ability to break away from commercial solutions and to design internally vertical presses for the wire plastification, obtaining a high quality product.

Even the selection of the material used for the plastification has undergone to a growth process. Thanks to the development of solutions and always different polymers we arrived to the configuration in which the plastification is obtained thanks to a polyurethane mixture.

With the diamond wire it is only possible to cut stone materials?

No, the diamond wire undergone to significant evolutions and developments during the years and allowed to process even very different materials. The diamond wire technology adapts to controlled demolition field, as it allows to remove and dismantle important components without disturbing the surrounding environment. We were involved in operations even at high level in the past. In the 80's in Oska (Japan) we cut some of the pilars of a skyscrapper to allow the construction and the passage of the subway. A few years later we were selected to remove a water tank in Ancona (Italy). The tank (diameter 25-30 meters, height 200m) stood near a large tobacco factory, which could not stop the production. There were needed structural calculations, design and analysis, to decide how to cut the tank. The demolition has been realized while the factory was carrying on the production.