“We were Cutlite Penta's test lap”: Fratelli Ferrara and the tube laser
Fratelli Ferrara was among the first companies to buy one of our tube lasers, back when the technology was taking its first steps here. Its daily work helped improve the machines that now ship as standard.
Founded in April 1975 by brothers Giulio and Elidio Ferrara, Fratelli Ferrara Srl is now led by the second generation, the three partners Andrea, Mauro and Danilo, with the third generation already at work on the floor. From blade cutting to the first tube laser in 2020, to the second system in 2023: a story where the customer did not just buy a technology, but helped it grow.
Fifty years of metal, three generations
The company was born in 1975 as a specialist in welded steel fabrication and semi-finished products. In the Eighties came a department dedicated to strip perforation; in the Nineties, the need that shaped the company's DNA: working the perforated tube directly, avoiding intermediate steps and rework, with the first automatic cutting lines.
Today Fratelli Ferrara operates on a plant of around 4,000 square meters, with production ranging from strip perforation to advanced processing of tubes, profiles and box sections, for steelwork, livestock equipment, construction and special industrial applications.
The product: the perforated tube
The perforated tube is the thread running through the company's whole history: first the strip was perforated, then the tube itself came to be worked directly. It is an unusual specialization, and the photo below tells it better than any description.
On this product the laser brought the difference that matters: holes and features cut directly on the machine, on round, square and rectangular tubes and special profiles.
When blade cutting is no longer enough
For years, blade cutting was a reliable solution. But as demands for precision and finish grew, its limits became clear: every cut part then needed rework.
We no longer wanted to cut and then clean, deburr, finish. We wanted a cut that was ready.
Andrea Ferrara's words sum up the turning point: laser tube cutting delivers a clean, precise, repeatable cut, removes downstream operations and changes the efficiency of the whole department.
Meeting Cutlite Penta: 2020 and 2023
Contact came through Sergio Zanet, already known to the company. The proposal was clear: replace the oldest cut-off machine with a tube laser. The visit to our site in Prato marked the point of no return, and not only for the technology: an Italian builder, direct contacts, immediate support.
In 2020 the first Cutlite Penta tube laser arrived; in 2023 the second system completed the department's transformation.
From automotive to dozens of new customers
Introducing the tube laser did not simply replace a machine: it opened markets. Historically tied to automotive, Fratelli Ferrara widened its portfolio: today it counts dozens of non-automotive customers, from structural steelwork to livestock equipment to special components for complex applications.
For a company with fifty years in the same sector, that is the most concrete form of protection: when one market slows, the others hold. The machine's flexibility, round, square and rectangular tubes and special profiles with integrated holes, is what made it possible.
The “test lap”: when the customer improves the machine
“We were Cutlite Penta's test lap. We were among the first to buy a tube laser.” Fratelli Ferrara arrived when our tube cutting was taking its first steps, and its daily experience became part of the development.
Working a tube is very different from cutting sheet: the tolerances introduced by drawing and roll forming require specific checks and dedicated cycles to guarantee consistent quality. From the dialogue with the people using the machines every day came precise evolutions: centering sensors, improved extraction from the rear chuck, and a redesigned unloading system, now more effective on square and rectangular box sections too.
Those interventions did not remain one-off cases: they were integrated into the standard machines. It is the most concrete example of how close collaboration turns field experience into product. And Sergio Zanet adds the most sincere compliment in a technician's repertoire:
Not every customer is like Mauro. If there were more customers like him, there would be fewer service engineers on the road.
Service: a relationship between people
“With the technicians you are not just a number. You talk, you work together, you solve it.” Andrea and Mauro Ferrara also add the honest note that rarely makes it into case studies: as workloads grow, service response times can slow a little. “We understand that,” they say. We report it because frankness should run both ways.
Geography counts too: for Fratelli Ferrara, the builder being Italian and close by keeps service times short. And many issues never even reach support: Mauro's knowledge solves them in-house.
Learning the machine: how it went
It is Mauro who runs the systems first-hand and writes the programs, after the courses held with our technicians on software and hardware. His verdict: “the commands were all very simple to understand. Then, of course, it always depends on the operator. We have Andrea, a young man with a real gift for electronics: he learns fast and solves plenty of situations on his own.”
Looking ahead without saying no to the market
The declared goal is never having to turn down a job. The idea of a new tube laser with a bevel head and more power comes from there: offering the customer a complete package, without compromises. Meanwhile our powers have grown up to 60 kW, and tube cutting is following the same direction.
The Fratelli Ferrara story says the laser is not just a machine: it is a choice that can protect a company from sector downturns, open opportunities and make the business more solid over time. Saying yes to the market, today, means having the right technology to do it.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Fratelli Ferrara Srl?
A company founded in April 1975 by brothers Giulio and Elidio Ferrara, specialized in welded steel fabrication, strip perforation and the processing of tubes, profiles and box sections. It is now led by the three second-generation partners, Andrea, Mauro and Danilo, with the third generation already on the floor, on a plant of around 4,000 square meters.
Which Cutlite Penta machines does Fratelli Ferrara use?
Two tube lasers: the first arrived in 2020, the second in 2023. They process round, square and rectangular tubes and special profiles, with holes and features cut directly on the machine.
What changed compared to blade cutting?
The cut comes out ready: clean, precise and repeatable, with no need to clean, deburr and finish every part. The tube laser also made it possible to take on jobs that were previously unthinkable and to diversify customers beyond automotive.
How did Fratelli Ferrara contribute to the tube laser's development?
It was among the first companies to adopt the technology when Cutlite Penta was taking its first steps in tube cutting. From the dialogue around its daily use came centering sensors, improved extraction from the rear chuck and a redesigned unloading system, evolutions later integrated into the standard machines.
Do you want a cut that comes out ready too?
Bring us your tubes, profiles and box sections: cutting gets tested in our DEMO area in Prato. And as Andrea Ferrara says, cutting and then finishing is no longer a fate you have to accept.
