MILESTONES

1978 / STALAM is established as a small, privately owned industrial enterprise, with focus on the development and manufacture of RF equipment for drying applications, mainly in the textile industry.

1980 / STALAM successfully installs its first textile dryer in Italy.

1983 / STALAM starts export of its RF dryers to Europe.

1984-1990 / STALAM becomes a renowned player in the RF drying technology for textile products and related applications in Europe:

- 1984: STALAM sells textile RF dryers totalling more than 1 MW (megawatt) output RF power in one year;
- 1985: STALAM sells its first multi-module dryer having an output RF power
higher than 100 kW;
- 1986: STALAM sells RF dryers for more than 2 MW (megawatt) total output RF power in one year. For the first time, exports exceed domestic sales;
- 1987: STALAM sells its first RF dryer for woman’s stocking tights;
- 1988: STALAM sells its first RF dryer equipped with a fully robotised loading and unloading system for yarn packages;
- 1989: STALAM sells its first multi-module dryer having a total output RF power
as high as 200 kW.

1990 / The current Chairman C.E.O. of STALAM, Mr. Cavestro, enters the Company leading a group of industrial and private investors, and becomes its major shareholder. His clear entrepreneurial spirit paves the way to a steady growth process of the Company.

1992 / Mr. Zanetti (the current C.O.O.) joins the company and boosts STALAM’s development in the international markets.

1990-2001 / STALAM becomes the world’s no. 1 supplier of RF dryers to the textile and technical-textile industries:

- 1990: STALAM sells its first RF dryers for technical-textile applications (felts, latex foam);
- 1992: STALAM exports for the first time to Africa, Latin America and the U.S.A.;
- 1993: STALAM starts regular exports to several countries in Asia;
- 1994: the TCRF (thermo-controlled) and LTRF (low-temperature) technologies are introduced to the world markets;
- 1995: at the ITMA show STALAM presents the RF/T dryer for fabrics and the RFA/S technology (radio frequency assisted by hot air circulation); STALAM sells RF dryers totalling more than 3 MW (megawatt) output RF power in one year;
- 1996: STALAM sells its first RF dryers to the glass-fibre industry; RF equipment for more than 4 MW (megawatt) total output RF power are sold in one year;
- 1997: STALAM sells 20 RF drying modules to equip the largest yarn package dye-house in the world; yearly sales top 7 MW (megawatt) total output RF power;
- 1998: STALAM introduces its best-ever selling equipment, the 85 kW textile dryer
(either water or air cooled);
- 1999: at the ITMA show STALAM presents the 105 kW, single-generator textile dryer;
- 2000: STALAM sells its 1000th textile dryer;
- 2001: STALAM’s yearly turnover tops for the first time 10 million Euro, and RF equipment sales exceed 9 MW (megawatt) total output RF power.

2002 / The Italian PE fund 21 Investimenti enters the Company with a minority stake. STALAM changes its legal status from limited liability company to private stock company.
The 40th RF drying module is supplied to the world’s biggest dye-house. Yearly equipment sales top 10 MW (megawatt) total output RF power. The Company obtains the ISO 9001 quality system certification from TUV (Germany).

2003 / At the ITMA show STALAM presents the carousel-type RF/C dryer for yarn package columns.

2002-2004 / Significant resources and R&D activities are allocated for the development of applications of the radio frequency technology in the food sector. RF pasteurisers and sterilisers become part of the Company’s product range, in addition to the post-baking RF dryers that are being marketed since the late eighties.

2005 / STALAM establishes a j-v company in the P.R.C. acquiring the majority stake of a partially privatised, former state-owned industrial equipment manufacturer. Hydroextractors and yarn winders (under license) are produced there, other than textile RF dryers, for the domestic Chinese market.
Meanwhile, STALAM exports its 300th RF drying module to China.

2006 / STALAM introduces the MW (microwave) and IR (infrared) technologies in its product range.

2007 / At the ITMA show STALAM presents the RFA/HP model equipment, performing RF drying assisted by the heat-pump technology, and the 150 kW dryer, the world’s biggest single-generator textile RF dryer.
In the same year, STALAM delivers its 300th RF drying module to the Turkish market, and manufactures its first-ever 6-module RF dryer.

2007-2009 / STALAM introduces to the world markets its RF equipment specifically designed for tempering and defrosting frozen food commodities and products, as well as the RF baking ovens for white-crust bread:

- 2007: STALAM sells to a leading European fish processor the fist RF tempering equipment for packaged seafood products; a few months later the first RF equipment to defrost meat blocks is supplied to a major Italian customer;
- 2008: STALAM builds and installs successfully the first and biggest-ever RF oven (450 kW output power, 6-module, 32 m long) specifically designed to bake white-crust bread loaves with a capacity of 2,000 kg/h; in the same year, STALAM delivers its first ARF series pasteuriser for packaged toast bread;
- 2009: a few RF defrosters for frozen fish are supplied to leading European companies.

2010 / STALAM delivers the 50th RF drying module (being part of a 320 kW output power, 6-module, 31 m long dryer) to its biggest customer worldwide in the technical-textile sector.

2011 / STALAM presents the first industrial RF equipment in the world, the RF/G model, specifically designed for the disinfestation and sanitisation of dry agricultural commodities (grains, seeds, nuts, etc.).
The 100th STALAM RF drying module is delivered to the Indian market.

...and more to come!