From joining IMESA as an apprentice to electrical design and, more recently, protection relay programming. More than thirty years of experience and a new professional challenge to keep growing, learning and putting himself to the test.
Michela: Hi Pierfrancesco, you are one of the people who have been working at IMESA the longest. How did your journey with the company begin?
Pierfrancesco: I joined IMESA at a very young age as an apprentice, before leaving for military service, and afterI completed my service, I returned to the company and, in 1990, I began building my professional career here.
At first, I supported the warehouse and, among other things, was responsible for numbering auxiliary cables. These were very different tasks from the ones I carry out today, but they were precisely where I started getting to know the company, the people and the way we work. Then I moved to the Electrical Engineering Department, which marked the first major turning point in my career. I started working on secondary medium-voltage switchboards and later moved towards low-voltage systems. From that point on, my work became increasingly technical and focused on electrical design.
Michela: You have dedicated a large part of your career to electrical design. Can you tell us more about what you worked on and what your main areas of expertise have been?
Pierfrancesco: Over the years, I have mainly worked on the design of electrical switchboards. As I mentioned, I started with secondary medium-voltage systems and then moved into low voltage. Together with Mastri, I worked on projects related to Terna, which was an important experience in my career, and then I specialised in low-voltage switchboards for the industrial sector and, subsequently, for the more specialised Oil & Gas sector, eventually moving into the even more specialised naval secto,r and projects for the Italian Navy.
In addition to switchboards, I also worked on electrical systems and installations, so we can say it has been a long journey, during which I have had the opportunity to explore different aspects of electrical design and develop a specialisation mainly through hands-on experience.
Michela: Then, in 2025, you decided to take on a new role, and how did this opportunity come about?
Pierfrancesco: After around thirty years, I felt the need for a change, to learn something new and get closer to the practical side of my work. I have always been a dynamic person and, over the years, I realised that being more closely involved with the workshop and the operational side of the business was something I really enjoyed. It is a dimension that feels closer to my personality.
In 2025, I had the opportunity to take on the programming of protection relays, and the company placed its trust in me by assigning me this new project. So I was really happy to take on the opportunity because I felt the need to challenge myself with something different while also taking on a new responsibility.
I continue to support the Electrical Engineering Department, making the experience I have gained over the years available whenever needed. This allows me to bring together the two sides of my work: on the one hand, design and the experience I have built up over the years; on the other, a more practical and dynamic activity.
Michela: Since this was a new activity, did you also have to develop your own way of working?
Pierfrancesco: Yes, because there was no one previously dedicated to this activity in a structured way, so I did not have an established method to follow.
I have to organise the work, understand how to manage the different activities and gradually develop my own way of working. It is something I am still refining and, precisely because it is new, I have had to reinvent some aspects of it.
For example, even practical aspects such as document management and archiving communications require a different organisational approach than before. I am trying to understand which method is most effective and, through experience, make it increasingly structured.
The biggest challenge I have encountered so far has mainly been finding the information I need. Technical documentation is not always immediately available or easy to understand, as it often involves topics that I had only dealt with marginally until now but that I necessarily need to explore in greater depth, and as a result this can make the work more complex. In these situations, it is important to talk to people, ask questions and bring together the expertise that already exists within the company. This is also part of the journey I am undertaking.
Michela: After all these years, what have you found at IMESA that made you stay? Beyond the welfare initiatives, which are an important part of company life, what do you appreciate most?
Pierfrancesco: Definitely the working environment. I have always felt comfortable here, and I think this is one of the reasons why I have stayed at IMESA for so long. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to meet many people and share an important part of my professional journey with them.
I would therefore like to thank all my colleagues, both those in the Electrical Engineering Department, where I feel extremely comfortable because they are an exceptional team. Sometimes we also get together outside working hours, and that is very rewarding. I would also like to thank my colleagues in production, whom I am getting to know more and more and whose work I have come to appreciate in a very positive way. I feel it is important to thank them because, as I mentioned earlier, working in an office is very different from working in production. When you meet someone who can teach you something, I always see it as an act of generosity that deserves to be recognised.
I would also like to give special thanks to Marco Achilli, our CEO, as well as to Franciolini, our Operations Manager, who is supporting me in my choices and in this new experience, because feeling his trust and support is important and reassuring, especially at a time when I am taking on a completely new activity.
I also appreciate the fact that the company is increasingly investing in employee welfare, and introducing new initiatives and incentives. Of the benefits I use, meal vouchers are definitely the one I make the most use of and appreciate the most.
Michela: Thank you, Pierfrancesco, because after so many years at IMESA, it is great to see that there are still new opportunities and challenges to take on. We wish you all the best as you continue this journey with the same enthusiasm.