This month for the “Customer of the month” section, we are interviewing Dr. Giuseppe Tombolini, regional president in the Puglia, Calabria and Basilicata regions of the Italian Federation of Prosthetists and national vice-president; he is an adjunct professor at Milan University, on the Prosthetic Sciences Course; he is also the winner of the 2018 Orthopaedic Awards for the design and manufacture of back supports, and currently heads Officine Ortopediche Tombolini.
Hello Giuseppe. Would you like to tell us how Officine Ortopediche Tombolini came to be?
It all started on 28 June, 1930, when my grandfather, Oreste Tombolini, qualified as a prosthetist. His diploma was signed by the prefect on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Italy.
This marked the start of a period of growth, involving three different generations, during which my family specialised and operated increasingly throughout the territory.
What were the most important steps in this process?
After my grandfather, the second person to receive a diploma was my father, in 1966. My brothers and I then graduated and all chose different but synergistic specialisations.
Ortopedia Tombolini became an unlimited partnership in 1993 and, in 2002, it acquired a large office building, with attached production plant, in the industrial area of San Giorgio Ionico in the province of Taranto, and also five branches in Taranto, Bari, Matera, Castellaneta and Massafra.
What now characterises Ortopedia Tombolini?
Tombolini is now a well-known name in the region and beyond. We have successfully combined 80 years of experience with state-of-the-art technologies. We manufacture medical devices for the rehabilitation / orthopaedics-neurological sector, including back, cranial deformity and foot supports, prosthetics for limbs and also internal production of all phases of custom orthopaedic shoes, one of the very few companies to do this. This has allowed our staff to increase their knowledge of the materials of which the device is made and base their response on our patients’ needs.
What does the future hold for Tombolini?
We are open to innovation and focus heavily on research!
We are currently involved in research being conducted at Naples University, for which we will be carrying out studies into sensors applied to orthopaedics and research into materials, using 3D printers. In the future, research, training, retraining and innovation will be an increasing part of our DNA and we are therefore laying the foundations for a research centre attached to our main plant.
Tombolini has been a Moretti customer for some time. What traits do the companies share?
Moretti has always been an important partner for us. We have found Moretti to be a skilled and well-prepared partner, providing us with consultancy on regulations and accompanying us in the major developments in our sector, thus ensuring that the well-being of the final customer is always the focus of our activities.
