There is a moment in the history of every industrial collaboration when technical expertise intertwines with trust between people.
This is what happened between TWT and Bortoletto Serramenti, two companies that found in their shared values and vision the basis for an ambitious project: to take the production of wooden doors and windows to a new level of quality and flexibility, without sacrificing the artisanal identity that has always distinguished Bortoletto products.
This story is told by Mauro Fistarol, TWT technical sales representative and project leader from the early stages.
Two companies, one logic
Bortoletto is a company that TWT has known for a long time. Three generations of window and door manufacturers – Loris and Fiorenzo at the helm of the second, then Stefano, Giovanni, Angela and Arianna representing the third – with a clear vision: to deliver quality, always.
“They are two similar companies,” explains Fistarol. “When you talk about long-term investments and product vision, having partners who think along the same family lines makes everything easier.”
The initial request was seemingly simple: to continue with consultancy on the existing product. But the collaboration between Bortoletto and TWT led to broader reflection.
Over the last 10-15 years, windows have changed: new aesthetic requirements, thermal performance that was not even considered before, obligations related to CE marking.
“The focus emerged clearly right away,” recalls Fistarol. “To create a tailor-made product, but with industrial logic.”
The challenge of the complete range
In recent years, the world of renovation has grown significantly, bringing with it increasingly specific and complex requirements. Working on existing buildings, often of historical or architectural value, means dealing with precise dimensional constraints.
“It took us months: space, hardware, gasket clearances and geometries did not always allow it.”
One non-negotiable requirement was the ability to handle special arches in the same machine, without having to purchase an external pantograph or train highly specialised personnel, skills that had now been retired along with those who possessed them.
Why the Laser.HP
When it began designing the tooling department, TWT chose to develop a solution conceived from the outset for the new 4.0 systems. This in-depth research, designed to meet the productivity and precision requirements of the latest generation of machining centres, would later be named Laser.HP.
For machines such as those at Working Process, high cutting speed is an essential requirement. “They don’t have the costs of a pantograph,” explains Fistarol, “but to make the investment sustainable, they have to produce in eight hours what a pantograph produces in a week.”
The real innovation of the Laser.HP, however, goes beyond performance. It lies in its ability to maintain precision over time: not only when the tool is new, but also after maintenance. “When working with complex profiles and counter-profiles, and you have to replace, sharpen and reassemble the cutter, the result must be identical to the initial one.”
The secret lies in its monobloc construction. By eliminating internal tolerances and components that need to be realigned, the Laser.HP is largely made as a single piece, ensuring perfect and repeatable repositioning every time.
Fistarol points out that this choice reflects a structural change in the industry. In the past, there were highly specialised figures, toolmakers, dedicated exclusively to the precision setting of machines. Today, that wealth of expertise is no longer widespread.
“Those who join the company now come from technical schools: they are not carpenters who grew up in the workshop.” The Laser.HP responds to this transformation by making maintenance safe, simple and accessible, without requiring advanced specialist skills.
At the Bortoletto plant, there is an additional operational advantage: the machining centre is equipped with a warehouse with an automatic tool washer. While the machine is producing, the cutters used in the previous cycle are washed and made immediately available for maintenance.
The result is a continuous process, in which maintenance becomes part of the production flow: work is carried out on individual cutter sets without stopping production, taking advantage of masked times.
Synergy with Working Process
The project would not have been possible without close collaboration with the manufacturer of the machining centre. TWT and Working Process worked side by side on what Fistarol describes as “a meticulous engineering study that was very challenging for us. But that’s what makes the difference.”
The dynamic is always the same: TWT proposes solutions for clamping and for how to pass the piece through the machine; the manufacturer’s technical departments verify, adjust and calibrate. Even in after-sales, when production is up and running, there is continuous and concrete collaboration.
“The machine manufacturer knows that the window manufacturer has to make windows with high precision and good cadence, but often does not go into aesthetic details or how to optimise the many optional accessories and add-ons. Our expertise in the finished product makes the difference in these areas.”
The result is measured in terms of quality and finish. With this system, the semi-finished products come out almost ready to be painted, if not completely ready. But a balance had to be found: flexibility should not lengthen production times.
In the Bortoletto system, with its five motors, certain operations are performed in masked times, while others are doubled on two motors working in parallel. “It was the icing on the cake,” comments Fistarol.
Noise, vibrations, safety
The monoblock geometry has brought benefits that go beyond precision. Eliminating unnecessary mechanical tolerances means reducing noise and vibrations (i.e. safety for those working in the department).
“We have measured the decibels in some situations. When a blade starts up in a traditional machine, there is a noticeable peak, and often the most annoying noises in the factory come from those machines, not from modern machining centres.”
The warehouse as a system
Managing eighty milling cutters with their cutting edges requires method. From this point of view, a highly appreciated system has been the equipped wall. Bortoletto has created one that looks like the hardware department of a specialised shop: all the cutters are visible, organised and immediately accessible.
It is a solution suggested by TWT that has changed the way we work: each piece has its place, its number clearly visible, and the spare cutters are ready for use.
To make all this even more functional, TWT has done some groundwork: each tool comes with laser-printed codes and clear labels, designed to fit directly into the panel.
The result is a system where the correspondence between the cutter, position and replacement blade is immediate, and quick maintenance is the natural consequence, supported by the intrinsic precision that characterises the Laser HP line.
Minimalist ‘mode’: finding the right balance
Today’s windows are often large, Northern European-style “panes” with substantial glass and an increasingly frequent request for them to be installed so that they are almost invisible in the wall. On the one hand, thicknesses are increasing to ensure the glass holds, while on the other, a visually thinner profile is desired.
At Bortoletto, we have not gone to extremes with minimalist profiles: we stopped one step before,” explains Fistarol. “It is a conscious choice.”
Going further would have meant introducing additional elements on the profile (clamps, glass stops, applied components), creating visual discontinuities, lines and interruptions that would compromise the overall aesthetic cleanliness.
Minimalism at Bortoletto Serramenti was already evident in the innovative Anita Ottanta, available in wood and wood-aluminium, and the same approach also guided the design of lift-and-slide doors such as Imago and AnitaSlide.
Looking ahead, together
The next step is clear: push for minimalist design and windows without glazing beads. Esperia 8:45 was already in the initial estimate, but a broader reflection was sought. “Today, minimalism is almost always associated with mixed profiles . When it comes to sustainability and green homes, wood is the most consistent product.”
On these issues, the discussion is mainly with Giovanni Bortoletto, who oversees the sales department with Angela. Stefano remains the technical reference for production, while Arianna has taken care of the digital catalogue and visibility on social media platforms.
“It is with this third generation that we will build the next developments,” concludes Fistarol. “They have inherited the expertise of previous generations and are carrying it forward with new ideas.”
