Leveraging his visionary mindset and entrepreneurial spirit, Leonardo Volpato was an inventor for his entire life. In the early sixties, foreseeing the enormous potential of plastic materials, he first entered the polyester business and, taking inspiration from an exhibition, began his lifelong adventure in the polyurethane industry.
At the end of 1964, he met Carlo Fiorentini, an admirable, humble, and pioneering engineer with a strong inclination toward innovation. Their fellowship would be at the core of their initial success, and the foundation for the We Are Cannon project, with the establishment of Afròs SpA in 1965. The newly created company was and still is active in manufacturing dosing machines and mixing heads for polyurethane and other reactive polymers.
It was the beginning of the Cannon Group as we know it today.
While Afròs was flourishing, in 1968 Leonardo Volpato took ill, and his son Marco temporarily joined Carlo Fiorentini, replacing his father for one year. Back to work in 1969, Leonardo died in December 1973.
Marco Volpato took over in early 1974, showing an entrepreneurial mindset and prosperous synergy with Carlo Fiorentini from the start. While the former displayed a strategic, long-term vision and a robust willingness to expand the business worldwide, the latter was a visionary inventor, combining powerful technical skills, the ability to think outside the box, and a strong sense of teamwork.
The Lab, the magic ingredient
Soon after entering the polyurethane industry, the two founders realized that PU chemistry was not an exact science but, rather, empirical. Carlo Fiorentini headed the R&D team, a small group of engineers passionate about innovation and experimentation. Their activity was done step by step by approximation.
In the PU industry, testing is crucial. Each application needs its specific recipe, and the Lab is the secret ingredient to success.
In the 1960s, only large raw chemical suppliers such as Bayer and BASF had their own laboratories, which later spun off or shut down. Among the manufacturers, just a few players had a lab on the market equipped to handle any chemical, which would become a key resource for them over the years.
Established nearly 60 years ago, the Cannon Lab is a strategic asset for customers, innovation, and opportunities. The more than 1500 square meters at our technical engineers’ disposal set the foundation for our continued development of future technologies.
Fully automatic plant for recycled composite material part manufacturing
Process control to bypass counterproductive physical phenomena in insulation components manufacturing
Interwet-LFI technology testing for the validation of a new chemical formulation
Lab trials of innovative solutions from low- to high-pressure gel processing transition
Color mixing test inside the mixing head
The legal controversy against a competitor
Carlo Fiorentini’s most resounding innovation was the FPL, a self-cleaning mixing head suitable for working, without spraying, with open molds. Developed and patented in 1978, it changed the way polyurethanes were produced.
This patent led to a contentious situation with another large competitor, resulting in 23 patent lawsuits, all of which Cannon eventually won. In 1986, the US Federal Court in Wilmington (Delaware, USA) granted Cannon full ownership of the patent, which was then also granted for use through royalties to the competitor who had sued. The head was a worldwide success and would be adopted by nearly every reactive polymer producer in the years that followed.
For all the innovations achieved up to that point, in 1984, Carlo Fiorentini received the medal of honor from FSK, the German Association of Foam Manufacturers.
The Network, the other secret element
From its early stage, the company was able to rely on a strong network with a remarkable level of expertise. Starting with Denmark in 1969, Afròs quickly expanded its presence globally through agents that often became subsidiaries or branches.
After settling in European countries such as Germany, France, and Spain in 1975, the company made its way to the United States and soon after to Japan and Singapore, a gateway to Southeast Asia. The most recent agent to join the Group was in India with the 2022 inauguration of Cannon Indikos, while the newest acquisition welcomed Austria’s Polytec EMC in 2024.
The importance of the Cannon network is in guaranteeing the same standard level of skills and expertise worldwide, making the client feel close to the competence centers, no matter where they are located.
And if from today’s perspective, it appears to be an easy accomplishment and taken-for-granted standard, it certainly was not in the 1970s. Branches, thanks to their top-notch technical knowledge, were a critical success factor because they understood their markets, anticipated customers’ needs, and built trustworthy relationships.
Today, the Group comprises 17 subsidiaries abroad.
The diversification strategy
In the middle of the 1980s, management defined a novel strategy to strengthen the Group’s market position and boost growth. Deploying the concept “close to PU, different from PU,” Cannon identified a few businesses that could support the expansion.
Aside from reinforcing the PU-based business with the acquisition of Viking in the UK, three other markets were brought into the fold: industrial electronics, through the acquisition of Automata; aluminum die-casting, thanks to TCS; and energy, with Cannon Bono, the Group’s largest acquisition, which as years passed, was split into two companies: one focused on energy production and efficiency, one on water treatment.
It was the first time that concepts like “emissions,” “efficiency,” “green technology,” and “saving resources” began appearing on the market. The Group was at the forefront, investing in industries that were developing their potential.
Today, one-third of Cannon’s turnover is due to these acquisitions.
The winning choice of diversifying helped Cannon during challenging periods throughout the decades, securing financial statements independently from the single business line every year.
The project in the XXI century
As globalization began rapidly increasing, the Group took advantage of its strong network, expanding the business and growing year on year across all segments.
In addition to Europe, all strategic areas are covered, from North America to China, Japan, and India. To secure a leading position in these markets, manufacturing centers were built. Local facilities enhance productivity, focus on regional needs and certifications, and increase customer trust.
Today, the Cannon Group is present in more than 40 countries with branches, subsidiaries, and long-term agents.
