Meet Bruno Padoin, Mechanical Maintenance Team Leader

We interviewed Bruno Padoin, Mechanical Maintenance Team Leader. He will soon leave us to retire.

The Interview

Let’s go back to the very beginning, to your first day of work at I.M.M. Hydraulics

I started in September of 1998, on the 21st. I remember it very well.
There are always a lot of unknowns when you start working in an unfamiliar environment, really a lot of things.
From the expectations of senior management who have hired you and believe in you based on your CV, to colleagues who see you as a stranger coming into their world.
As for my allotted duties, namely mechanical maintenance, I had no problems as regards the type of product, because I already had twenty years of experience in the mechanical field.
Fortunately, the unknowns disappeared quite quickly, as demonstrated by the fact that I have been at IMM for twenty-one years now.

Comparing the company yesterday and today: in your opinion what has changed?

When I joined I.M.M. Hydraulics, it was just starting out on the path of its great expansion, and this has led to what it is today.
It was a purely family-run business and relationships were more direct.
Then over time things changed, as they should.
First it became a limited company and then joined the INTERPUMP group. After that a binding hierarchy developed and relations have therefore have become less direct.
The development of the company has of course brought benefits for all – for employees and for IMM Hydraulics.

What values have you absorbed in these years spent in I.M.M. Hydraulics?

I come from the north, from Piedmont. The environment for work – but not only work – in Abruzzo has been (and is) certainly very positive, both in terms of human and professional relationships.
I was 34 years old when I started in 1992. In all that time I’ve never had second thoughts. Except for the occasional bout of homesickness.

What professional advice would you give to a young person today starting out on their career?

The first thing I would advise is definitely humility. Nobody is perfect and it’s important to have that drive to do and to learn, as well as to listen and ask colleagues for advice.
But don’t be afraid to make mistakes because we only learn by failing. In our business, you learn something every day; everything enriches your personal experience.

What can you tell us of your future projects?

Definitely some rest and a much calmer way of life!
The 5.30 am wake-up routine will be abolished.
I would like to devote more time to my passions, like foreign travel (something I’ve always enjoyed, time off allowing).
And then there’s my long-held dream of constructing a miniature railway.
And of course I want to enjoy my motorbike!
In conclusion, I have to say that the twenty-one years at I.M.M. Hydraulics have flown by.
I have seen the company grow from a small concern to a large production company, and I’m glad to have been a part of it. But mostly I’m happy to have made a contribution to the company’s growth.
And I hope that growth continues.
Now, at 61 years old with 43 of them spent in engineering companies, it’s time to give my place up to others.
Best wishes for the future to everyone.

Bruno Padoin
Mechanical Maintenance Team Leader
bruno.padoin@imm-hydraulics.it